A new future
by Fire and fairy dust
Summary: Marinette and Adrien are in college now, but duties as Paris' superheroes still remain. When Marinette signs up for a design competition, she has no idea that Adrien could model her fashion line, if she wins. Will fate finally get these two soulmates together? Please read!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Welcome to my new story, 'A new future'.**

 **This takes place around the time when Marinette and Adrien are in college, or university. Basically, they're older now but they're still superheroes.**

 **Please review!**

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"Yeah, yeah okay, I'll try to join you guys later but I can't promise that I'll be there," Marinette said to Alya on the phone, while juggling pins, fabric and tape in her hands. "This project is worth thirty percent of my entire grade and I _have_ to pass this class."

"Of course you'll pass, girl," Alya said, while slurping her smoothie at a local cafe, "you're the best in that class."

"Pfft! Hardly," Marinette snorted. She placed her phone on the table and turned on the speaker. Measuring the manikin's shoulder length with her measuring tape, she took the pencil out of her hair and marked points on the fabric.

"Mari, you are the most talented designer I know, and I know lots of people," smirked Alya, while Nino, who was sitting opposite her, grinned. They knew how modest Marinette was; she would never admit that she was currently the budding designer in Paris.

"Okay, just because you're a journalist and you travel the world, doesn't mean that you know _everyone_ ," the blue/black-haired girl commented sarcastically. By now, she had already started sewing the bodice of her creation, cutting at seams and forming a basic shape to her dress.  
"I mean, I know some people too, despite being stuck in the textiles room all day."

"Sure, girl, you keep telling yourself that." Alya stifled a giggle as the designer made an indignant sound. She sighed, though; she had hoped that Marinette would have been able to go out tonight with them, as Nino had persuaded Adrien to come along too. Although her best friend claimed to have gotten over her high-school crush, Alya knew that Marinette still had his pictures over her bedroom wall.

"Well, try to come along, at least," Alya persuaded, "because I know that we could all use a little break."

Marinette smiled. It was true that college life was a lot more tiring than their former education level, but she was studying something she loved. As she touched up one of her paper designs, Marinette frowned at the mess she had created.

"Um, I'll try Alya, but I promised my teacher that I would clean up the room before I'd go, and right now, I am _not_ living up to that promise." She heard her best friend laugh before saying bye, and ended the call.

Pushing her hair out of her face, the student started to clear up all the equipment she was using. She had almost finished the dress, but there were still a lot of finishing touches needed; however, Marinette could agree that this was one of her most accomplished fashion lines yet. Every piece of clothing was coordinated, in season and original. Maybe she could even win that design competition her teacher was telling her about, where famous models could showcase her designs!

Marinette shook her head. _Focus,_ she told herself, _you don't have time for competitions. You need to pass this class, as well as save Paris._

"Marinette?" a little voice spoke up. She turned and smiled to see her faithful kwami hovering in the air.

"Hi Tikki," she greeted, "what's up?"

"Marinette," Tikki repeated, "as your guardian, I can sense your feelings. If you want to take part in that competition, you should."

"I would Tikki, but I already have so much coursework. If I want an internship with Gabriel Agreste, then I have to get the best possible grade that I can. I can't waste my time on extra-curricular," replied Marinette.

"Yes, but wouldn't taking part in that contest make Gabriel notice you more? If you won, then he'd _have_ to notice you!"

She frowned. It was a fair point.

"Okay, Tikki but do you think I could win? I mean, this competition is huge! The whole country takes part! How can clumsy, young and inexperienced Marinette possibly have a chance?"

Tikki smiled at her beholder in affection, but also in exasperation.

"Marinette," Tikki began, "when will you ever see yourself clearly? Have confidence: see how high you can lift yourself!"

The Miraculous holder smiled as she cuddled her kwami.

"You always know what to say to make me feel better, don't you Tikki?" Marinette asked, a smile on her face.

"That's why I'm here!" Tikki squeaked. "Now finish what you were doing and sign up for that contest!"

They both laughed as Marinette rolled up the unused fabric and stashed it away in the store room, while Tikki lent a hand and put all the sewing string away. Eventually, the empty classroom looked like, well, a classroom, once more.

"Come on," Marinette indicated, as Tikki flew into her little purse. Grabbing her sketchbook, Marinette closed the door and walked up to the notice where she could sign up for the Design Competition.

She hesitated slightly, contemplating whether she should do this or not but she set her jaw in firm resolve, and lifted her pen to sign her name.

Little did she know, everything would start to change from that day onwards.

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 **Please review and let me know what you think!**

 **Since I am writing two stories at a time, I may take some time to update. Sorry!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien walked over to his teacher's desk. Everyone was being called up individually to discuss their reports with the professor, and so far, no one had a smile on their face.

And for some reason unknown to him, the professor had decided to call everyone one by one in _reverse alphabetical order._ He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, because that meant he was last.

"Adrien," his teacher rumbled, "please come here and take a seat."

Gulping, he sat down. _I hope I passed, I hope I passed,_ Adrien chanted in his head. Even if he didn't, he still had modelling as his second career; his father hadn't stopped him from doing that. Yet studying Physics was something that _he_ wanted to do, and for himself. He didn't want to be stuck in a job where his heart didn't lie.

"Well, this is your grade," Adrien's physics professor stated, passing him his paper.

Adrien shut his eyes briefly before looking at the top of the page.

"What?" he said loudly, before realising his mistake.

Everyone was staring at him. Everyone was looking at him because this was _silent study hour._

"Sorry," he muttered, before composing himself. He looked at his grade once more, assuring himself that this was real.

"So what do you think?" His teacher asked, a small smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

Adrien beamed at him. "Sir," he began, "I was not expecting to get an A+!" Adrien exclaimed as quietly as possible.

His teacher chuckled softly, quiet enough so the the rest of the students couldn't hear. "It was well deserved. The best paper in the entire class, and it even had some valuable insights. Well done."

"Thank you so much sir!" Adrien said, his heart swelling with happiness. He did it! And he did it for himself!

"Why are you thanking me?" Adrien's teacher asked, "This was deserved because of your hard work."

"Perhaps, but you were the one who recognised my work. If you hadn't recognised my work, well, I would not have been able to achieve this." Adrien stated firmly.

His teacher smiled at him. "Please take your seat, Adrien," he said, before resuming his marking once more. Adrien nodded, taking his paper and sitting back down in his place. A few people looked at him, probably after his outburst, but Adrien was too happy to care. He covered his paper with one of his textbooks, hiding his grade; although he had done well, he didn't want to show off. He wanted to treasure this moment, just for himself, this once.

As the clock struck one o'clock, students started rising from their seats as they were dismissed for class. Adrien did the same, but before he left, he made sure Plagg was in his bag. That kwami was always poking his nose where it wasn't needed.

Walking down the hallway, his phone started to buzz.

"Oh, hey Nino, what's going on?" asked Adrien, trying to balance his phone and his bag at the same time.

"Dude, did you consider my offer, you know all of us going out tonight?"

 _Oh that,_ Adrien thought, _he's been bugging me about that for a while now._ He didn't understand why Nino wanted him to go so badly, but he figured he could go, to celebrate.

"Um sure, I'll go," Adrien answered uncertainly.

"Awesome! See you tonight then!" As quick as he called, he cut the line, leaving a very confused Adrien on the other line.

"Okay?" Adrien mumbled to himself. Shaking his head at the antics of his crazy friend, Adrien walked over to the limo that was waiting, and jumped in. He saw a few girls pointing at the car but he looked away. Despite the fact he tried to keep his profile on the low, he couldn't avoid the inevitable attention that followed. Thankfully, this attention was a lot less at college, where there were thousands of students walking past each other every day, but it wasn't as low as he'd liked.

Finally, Adrien and 'The Gorilla' reached the Agreste Mansion. Walking into the lonesome, large house, he bumped into Nathalie yet again.

"Oh sorry Nathalie, I didn't see you there," Adrien apologised, as the assistant glanced at him, her poker face not wavering even slightly.

"Adrien, your father told me to inform you that you will be participating in a fashion show soon," said Nathalie, straight to the point, ignoring Adrien's apology as if he hadn't even said a word. "You will be modelling the winner's fashion line, after the competition has been held, along with other leading models in Paris."

He frowned. "And when will this be happening?" he asked, "because I have exams coming up and I do not want anything to interfere with that."

"It will not interfere, I have checked everything beforehand. It will be after your first exam period, and you will not have classes at this time."

Adrien shrugged. "Okay, I guess that's alright, then." She nodded and walked off, her heels clacking on the shiny floor.

"So what's all this about shows and stuff?"

Adrien looked at his kwami. "Well, I'm not fully sure, Plagg, but it looks like I don't have a choice, anyhow," he said, sighing. "At least I'll still get to study my favourite subject in peace though."

"You're so weird," Plagg complained, his cat-nose wrinkling, "I mean, what kind of person likes to study _Physics?"_

"Plagg, you know that I'm not like a regular kid, anyway," Adrien said, a little sadly, "I mean, what kind of person is always stuck in their house, and has to abide by every single rule their parent sets? Not to mention the fact I was home-schooled for more than half my life."

"Yeah, well you're also Chat Noir, and no regular kid has that life either," Plagg smirked.

Adrien smirked back. "That's the only part of my life that I _do_ like."

"Well, kid, you won't be stuck in the house today, because you're going out with your friends, remember?"

"Oh, shoot, I forgot about that. Hey, Nathalie wait up! I have to tell you something!"

Plagg just watched him run after the assistant like a little kid, a little fondly. Although he was older now, Adrien was still lovable, like his high-school self. He had barely changed.

But his life would start to change soon.

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 **Please review and let me know what you think!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! Thanks for reading, and a special thanks to everyone that favorited and followed the story!**

* * *

"I can't believe we both got them to agree to come tonight!"

Nino laughed at Alya, as she jumped up and down on their way back home. The red-head had been plotting for years to get their best friends together but for some reason, it never went according to plan.

"I'm surprised Adrien agreed," Nino commented, hands in his pockets, "He's usually totally focussed on his work."

"Hey, maybe the pressure got to him too, and he wanted to relax," Alya suggested while Nino shrugged. It didn't seem like a likely explanation but he knew better than to oppose his girlfriend.

"Okay, so you get Adrien to the club while I'll get Marinette," Alya schemed, "and then we'll leave them. Hopefully, they'll start talking and get together!"

Nino laughed.

"What?" asked Alya, placing her hands on her hips, frowning.

"Look, I'm not sure that's how people get together," Nino began before Alya shushed him.

"Well, it worked for us, remember?"

Nino recalled that day in the zoo, where Ladybug put him and Alya together, in the same cage, during an akuma attack. They had started talking and their relationship had stemmed from there.

He raised his hands up in surrender as Alya smirked in victory.

"Come on, let's go and get them, it's getting late!"

* * *

Marinette slumped on her chaise. Her fabrics were strewn across her desk and pieces of paper were strung all across her walls, each with a unique design made originally by the designer herself. As she began to close her eyes, the bell ringed.

"Marinette, Alya is here!" Sabine called.

Groaning, because she was too tired to even go out tonight, Marinette went down the stairs and saw her best friend standing in the living room, looking ready to party.

"Look at you, you're not even ready yet!" She screamed, ushering her upstairs again. Before Marinette could protest, Alya had shoved some clothes in her face and pushed her inside the bathroom. Muffling an unheard protest, she looked at the clothes that her friend picked out for her.

"Oh no, nuh uh, I am not wearing this!" Marinette screamed, banging her hands on the door, her weariness melting away to anger. Alya had picked out a skimpy outfit for her that was too revealing in all the wrong places. It was clearly something she had bought for Marinette, despite knowing she would never wear it.  
"Alya Cesaire, you let me out right now! I have designed _way_ better outfits than this!"

Sighing, she opened the door. Marinette stormed out, and picked something she found satisfactory, before slamming the door again. When she emerged, Alya couldn't help but gasp.

"Wow girl, you look great!" she exclaimed.

Marinette blushed. She had let her hair fall down, touching her shoulders, and had chosen to wear a baby-blue summer dress that went just above her knees. The dress brought out the colour in her eyes.

"Thank you, Alya," replied Marinette, doing a little curtsey which made the journalist laugh. "I'll have you know, I wasn't kidding when I said I designed better outfits than your, your, I don't even know what you call that thing!" Marinette exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Wait, you designed this?!" Alya squealed again, before grabbing Marinette's hands and jumping up and down with her. "You have got to make me a cute number like this as well, girl!"

"Fine, as long as you promise never to shop for me again," Marinette warned, wagging her finger.

"Deal!"

They jumped a little more, just like old times, before Alya decided they should leave, because it was getting late. Grabbing her little pouch-bag with Tikki inside, Marinette kissed her parents and promised to come home by ten. Both girls went out onto the streets of Paris, excited to spend some time relaxing, instead of studying their heads off.

It was then Alya realised that she hadn't told Marinette that Adrien was coming as well. Oh well, Marinette would love the surprise right?

Alya led the way, and they walked over to a small club. It was designed for students only, and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief at the sign. She wasn't sure where Alya was taking her; last time, Alya had taken her somewhere that Marinette would not want to go again, ever.

They were both greeted with neon lights, and people dancing. Alya gave a small 'whoop!' before diving right into the dancing crowd.

"Glad you wanted me to join you tonight," Marinette mumbled, as she walked over to the bar and asked for a drink. She walked over to an empty table and sat down, feeling slightly awkward, with no-one to talk to.

"Marinette?" a voice called. Marinette looked up and her heart almost stopped beating.

"A-Adrien?" she stuttered, before cursing mentally. She wasn't in high-school anymore! She was a college student, who did _not_ easily get embarrassed. But she couldn't help but swoon at her high-school crush.

He looked taller, and his skin looked as if it was emitting a warm glow. His hair was the same, golden blonde but he had grown it out a little. Tonight, he had worn a simple shirt and jeans, with a blazer casually on top, looking effortless yet stunning.

Marinette didn't like to admit that she still was falling hard for the model, but this time, anyone would be able to tell. A blush was already creeping up to her cheeks and her palms were starting to bead with sweat. But the part of her that wasn't gazing at Adrien reminded her that she hadn't seen him in a while. It was nice to see him again.

Adrien was experiencing similar thoughts to Marinette. She looked beautiful in her blue dress, and he was pretty sure that he had never seen this design anywhere, before. Her eyes were sparkling and he had never seen her hair down before. It suited her, he thought.

He told himself to focus. He was in love with Ladybug, and he would only love her. But he couldn't help but admit that Marinette did make him catch his breath slightly. Right now though, he had to be able to pull it together, and be able to talk properly to his old classmate.

"Hey, can I sit with you? I can't find Nino anywhere, and I don't know anybody else here." He scratched his head nervously, Marinette noted, just like he used to.

"Um, sure," Marinette offered, as he took a seat. Mentally preparing herself, she decided to start a conversation. The teenager Marinette would have stuttered and tripped over her words like a dork, but college Marinette was determined not to do the same. She was ready to talk to Adrien, just like she would with any other student.

"So, Nino's with you? Alya came here with me, but she ditched me as soon as she saw everyone was dancing." It was the truth, and a good start, she felt.

"Funny you should say that, because that's exactly what Nino did to me," Adrien said with a hint of a smile. "I swear, if he was going to leave me anyway, why did he bring me here in the first place?"

"I know, right? I mean, I have coursework to finish. Plus, I just signed up for a competition, and I should really be getting on with that."

"So it's not just me that's feeling the stress, then?" Adrien asked knowingly.

"Nope, unless you don't count those two over there," Marinette said with slight annoyance, looking at Alya and Nino dancing their hearts out. Adrien followed her gaze and started laughing at the sight of them.

Well, they did look a little ridiculous, Marinette thought, as Alya was whooping while Nino was doing a weird dance move that looked like a mix between the funky chicken and the robot. Marinette rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile slightly at her two friends having fun.

"I'm not really the one for parties but those two need to learn how to dance," Adrien commented, before looking at Marinette with a smug smile. "Shall we show them how it's done?"

Perhaps before, Marinette would have started sweating like crazy, and go berserk. However, she was feeling confident tonight; she probably wouldn't see Adrien anytime soon anyway, and why couldn't she go and have a little fun?

"Alright," she smiled, and Adrien raised her eyebrows at her boldness. It was a surprising change for him, since he remembered Marinette to be a shy girl, but he liked it. He felt his Chat side of him come out slightly, but he figured he could enjoy himself, at least a bit.

He held out one hand, which Marinette took, and led her onto the dance floor. She let go once they reached Alya and Nino, however but Adrien tried not to let that bother him. The DJ and the journalist seemed oblivious to them, but Adrien smirked internally. They would see him soon, Adrien figured.

A dance track came on and Adrien felt his Chat Noir come alive. He let the music guide him, and started dancing.

Marinette started swaying to the music too, as she let the confident Ladybug inside of her, come out. She noticed Adrien glance at her but she closed her eyes and let her feet guide her.

"Girl, I had no idea that you could _dance_!" Alya exclaimed beside her. "What other secrets have you been hiding from me?"

Marinette tried not to let that sentence bother her too much. "Anyone can dance, Alya," she said playfully.

Adrien chuckled. "Everyone can dance, but it depends how well," he said, a little sarcastically. "I mean, Nino, what were you _doing_?"

The DJ looked offended. "Hey, my dance moves are awesome!"

"Awesomely catastrophic," Adrien muttered with a grin, as Marinette elbowed him. "Ow!" He exclaimed, as Marinette folded her arms, looking stern.

"I heard that," she said, low enough so Alya and Nino wouldn't hear.

"Well, it was true," Adrien said, a little indignant. At that, Marinette cracked a little smile, and Adrien couldn't help but notice that she looked beautiful when she smiled.

"Come on, let's dance!" the blue-black haired girl announced, before grabbing his arm and leading him further into the dancing crowd. He laughed as he was pulled across, and started joining in with the crowd. After a while, it was Alya who actually forced them to sit down, and remind them that it was time to go.

"Sorry, I guess I lost track of time," Marinette said sheepishly. She opened her phone and saw that it was almost ten. "My parents will probably tell me off for being late."

"Mari, will you be alright getting home by yourself? I have to go with Nino, his parents said they would drop me home."

"It's alright, I'll walk you home," Adrien offered. His friends sharply looked at him, surprise etched on their faces.

"I mean, if it's alright with you Marinette?" he asked, a little nervously.

"That would be really sweet of you, Adrien," she said, with a smile spreading across her face. He let out a small, nervous breath before standing up.

"See you guys later!" he called, as Alya and Nino waved goodbye.

Both he and Marinette started walking out into the cold night, heading towards the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien noticed Marinette shiver slightly. He looked down at his blazer. Without a second thought, he took it off and placed it on the designer's shoulders. She looked at him sharply, clearly startled.

"Oh, um, you looked like you were cold," Adrien answered, a little shakily. He wasn't sure if he had done the right thing, and whether she would appreciate his actions or not. Just as he thought that Marinette would return his blazer back to him, she smiled softly at him.

"Thank you," she whispered, and he nodded. He was pretty sure that his cheeks were burning.

They soon approached the bakery. Marinette turned to look at him, her cerulean eyes sparkling.

"Thank you for walking me home, Adrien," she began, hoping her blush wasn't that obvious, "and here, you can have your blazer back." As she started to take it off, Adrien stopped her.

"No, you can keep it, I mean, I have loads back home, you know, from modelling…" he trailed off. He knew he was rambling but he couldn't help it. Marinette looked really cute in that blazer.

"Oh, thanks," she said, a little surprised. As a chilly breeze whipped past them, Marinette hugged the blazer tighter around her, glad that she could keep it. Great. Now she had two things that Adrien owned, she thought.

"It was nice seeing you again, Marinette," Adrien started, putting his hands in his pockets. "We should meet up again sometime, you know, to just hang out."

"I'd like that," Marinette replied, trying to hide her excitement. Was Adrien finally asking her out?

"I should probably give you my number then," Adrien suggested, pulling his phone out. He put his head down low, trying to cover the smile on his face. "I can type it in for you," he offered.

Marinette just mutely handed over her phone, unable to believe her luck. Adrien finished typing his number into her phone, and passed it back to her.

"See you later," he smiled, as he started walking back.

"Bye," Marinette said softly, as Adrien turned back to look at her. They shared a small smile, before going their separate ways.

Later that night, Alya and Nino pounded fists. They had watched their best friends' entire exchange from the building around the corner, almost bursting from excitement. Sure, Alya had lied to Marinette, but that was part of the plan. And it worked! She knew Marinette would forgive her, eventually.

Although Marinette and Adrien would never admit it out loud, they were glad their best friends had made them go out that night.

It was the beginning of something new.

* * *

 **Hope you liked that chapter! Please review, and let me know what you think!**

 **Also, I will not be able to update for two weeks, as I will be on holiday, and probably will not have internet connection. But I promise I'll have chapters ready when I return!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! It feels good to be back and sorry for keeping you waiting!**

 **Please enjoy this chapter and review! Thanks!**

* * *

Marinette checked her phone. _3:00 pm._ Okay. That left her enough time to finish the last piece and submit everything.

Her teacher sat at the front of the classroom, watching her student warmly. Marinette was her favourite student; she was hardworking, polite and talented- in fact, she was the only student that was taking out her extra time out to finish her work and her teacher was more than happy to supervise her. She was really pleased that Marinette had decided to submit her coursework for the design competition as well: she was certain her best student would go far, perhaps even win.

"Alright, I'm done," Marinette declared, blowing her hair out of her face.

Her teacher smiled at her. "Well done, Marinette. I'll make sure the exam and competition boards receive your designs. You've finished the paperwork?" Her teacher prompted.

"Yes, I've already given them in." She had done that yesterday, thanks to Tikki reminding her.

"Great. Well, I'll see you in class then."

"Thanks Miss. See you later," she said, picking up her bags and leaving. As she began to head towards her house, her phone bleeped.

"Oh, it's a message," she glanced, "from… _Adrien?!_ " Marinette yelled, as she realised who the sender of the message was. A few pedestrians stared at her before continuing to walk away. She smiled nervously and in awkward embarrassment, before scrolling down and reading the text.

 _Hey Marinette, my class just finished and was wondering if you'd like to grab a bite before going back?_

 _Adrien_

Wow. She had dreamed of this moment for months, no years, for the day that Adrien would ask her to lunch (or anything, for that matter). She fumbled on the keys of her phone, almost forgetting how to type before she came to her senses and told herself to act like her age.

 _Great. My class just finished, too. Where do you want to eat?_

 _M_

The reply came almost immediately. Marinette wondered if Adrien was staring at his phone, waiting for her answer. Probably not. She was hoping for too much, too soon.

 _How about the café around the corner? I'm sending you the directions right now._

Another message dinged on her phone, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out the location. "Got it!" she announced, before texting back.

 _That's perfect, it's not too far from where I live. I'll be right there. :)_

Once again, Adrien replied, as fast as lightning.

 _Awesome!_ ;)

Marinette tried not to let that winking face see her blush.

* * *

As a matter of fact, Adrien had been staring intently at his phone for the past few minutes, but no one had to know about that, right?

He didn't really have anyone to hang around with, and after meeting up with Marinette a few nights ago, he really wanted to meet up with her again. He didn't know why exactly, but something about her was different.

Perhaps it was because they were older now. Before, Marinette was hesitant to talk to him, too shy too even look him in the eye. But now, she seemed more confident, more open. Adrien felt that he could finally have another friend, and get to know his previous classmate a little better.

He walked over to the café, a small but striking shop that had caught his eye a few weeks ago. Nino had also recommended this place to him, and mentioned going there many times with Alya. Adrien figured it must be good.

He grabbed a table for two, and looked through the menu. As he finally decided what to get, he looked over at the door, and saw her.

She was wearing a simple pink shirt and a grey skirt, a pale pink scarf gently placed around her neck. This time, her hair was pinned up as a bun, but that just made her features appear sweeter. She looked around the place and her eyes landed on Adrien. She smiled, before making her way over to him.

Adrien couldn't take her eyes off of her. And it wasn't because of her beauty; there was more to it than that. She carried with her an aura of happiness, which was seen in the twinkle of her eyes, or maybe the spring in her step.

"Hi," she said as she pulled out the chair to sit down. "Alya was telling me about this place. She said it's really good."

"Wow, another coincidence. Nino told me the same thing, but I chose it because it stood out, when I passed along this street a few weeks ago. And," Adrien smiled sheepishly, "I didn't want to go alone."

"Well I'm happy you chose me to go with you," she said, a tint of pink lining her cheekbones. She looked away, and grabbed the menu card. "So, what are you having?"

"Um, I thought about having the raspberry sorbet," he replied, trying to recall what he'd ordered. Marinette nodded to let him know she heard him.

"Hm, I think I'll go for the strawberry and passion fruit smoothie," she finally decided. As she put the menu away, a waitress came to take their orders.

"So how's college life going?" Adrien asked, once the waitress left.

"Great, it's just really time consuming," Marinette answered, a weary grin on her face. "I just handed in my coursework, as well as submitting it for that design competition I told you about before."

Adrien recalled that night, and remembered Marinette hitting upon that topic briefly. But he didn't fully know about this competition, and he hadn't seen any signs about contests around the college building, either.

"So, what do you have to do for the contest?" Adrien inquired.

Marinette rested her head on her hand. "Well, all around Paris, designers first have to give a photo of their designs. It has to be a fashion line, which can be on any theme, and is evaluated by the judges. If it goes onto the next stage, the contest board will ask for the submission of the actual clothes."

"And then they'll choose the winner?"

"Yes, I think so. The winner's designs will be showcased by models from around the world, and will appear on television and magazines." Marinette's voice grew warmer, Adrien noted, as she told him about this competition. Clearly, this was something she felt passionate about.

"That would really boost a new designer's career," Adrien pointed out, "and it would definitely get the big designers to notice."

"It would," Marinette agreed, her eyes sparkling. "I would love to win, of course, but I don't know if I can. But if I did win, then maybe someone like Gabriel Agreste could notice my designs!" She faltered slightly, before realising that her idol's son was sitting right in front of her.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, Adrien, I wasn't trying to coerce you, or your father, he's just been inspiring my designs for years and I would love to win, and he's amazing, you're amazing, and this must be really awkward for you right now." She stopped abruptly, her face going red.

Adrien just laughed.

Marinette's face looked crestfallen and Adrien didn't want to create a misunderstanding. "No I'm not laughing at you, I swear!" He said, raising his hands. "It's just that I can't believe you thought you were trying to coerce me. I know you would never do that."

Marinette looked a little relieved. "Well, it's not like I have a chance anyway, for your father to notice me," she said with a small sigh, "because I'm probably not good enough to win."

Adrien felt his heart twisting when he heard her say that. Just then, their drinks were served. Thanking the waitress, Adrien began to drink, but he didn't know what to say to Marinette to make her feel better. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Marinette?" He asked. She looked up, still sipping her smoothie. "I was wondering," he began, "if you have a picture of your designs? I mean, the one you submitted."

Marinette scrunched her eyebrows. Why did Adrien want to see her designs? He would probably think they were amateur anyway, considering his father was so big in fashion. But she knelt down to retrieve her phone from her bag, and opened the picture she had taken of her clothing line, handing it over for Adrien to see.

Adrien took her phone and looked at the picture on the screen. He could not believe his eyes.

"Wait, are you sure _you_ designed this?" Adrien asked, incredulous.

Marinette gulped anxiously. "Are they that bad?" she asked softly.

"What? No! Are you kidding me? These designs are amazing! I've never seen anything like these before." He looked on in awe, occasionally zooming in on certain manikins that had the pieces of clothing attached on to them. Each piece was unique, unbelievably crafted and looked wonderful. He couldn't believe that someone could have hand-crafted these designs, and come up with them in the first place.

"Wait, you like them?" she asked, tentative.

"Of course I like them! I love them! You've done the male and female sections equally well. In fact, I would love to model that design." He pointed at a manikin. This one wore trousers that were black but would fit perfectly around the legs. The shirt was simple yet regal, but what made the outfit stand out was the coat. Fashioned in a blazer-like style, the edges were outlined in silver. It was simple but striking, and anyone would want to adorn that style, Adrien thought.

"You would?" Marinette asked, surprised.

"Yeah, of course!" Didn't Marinette know how good she was, Adrien wondered? He would actually enjoy modelling her designs… Suddenly, something in his head clicked. Nathalie had mentioned that he would have to model a winner's line, for a competition. Could it be the same one as Marinette?

"Um, Adrien? Are you okay?"

"What?" Adrien came back to his senses. Marinette looked at him worriedly, but he gave her a reassuring smile. "Oh, sorry, I must have spaced out." She nodded, drinking her smoothie once more.

Looking through her fashion line again, Adrien couldn't believe his luck or his theory, for that matter; if Marinette won, and he was pretty sure she would, he would have a chance to model her line! It would certainly be an honour.

As he handed her phone over, he decided to check his theory. "Hey, Marinette, what time will they declare the winner of the competition?"

Marinette frowned, thinking back to her application form. "I'm pretty sure it's after exam season," she finally verified.

He knew it. It was the same competition. He grinned at the prospect.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Marinette asked, a little smile on her face too. She couldn't help it; he looked even more handsome when he grinned like that.

"I think that I might be modelling the winner's fashion line for the same competition you're taking part in," he admitted, a little sheepish.

At his statement, Marinette choked, almost spewing her smoothie. Adrien looked at her worriedly, but she gathered her composure, steadying herself. "You're doing _what?"_ she asked, astonished.

"Um yeah, at first I didn't think it was the same competition, but after you told me when the winner would be announced, I'm pretty sure I'll be one of the models in that fashion show." He looked apologetic.

"Wow, well that's a coincidence, I guess," Marinette spoke, finally. "Those have been happening a lot lately," she muttered under her breath. When Adrien gave her a questioning look, she smiled. "That's great," she declared as he began to smile, "I mean, I don't know if I even have a chance to win, but it's great you're involved."

Adrien looked at her, hard. "Marinette, do you even know how talented you are? I think you really have a chance at winning."

She blushed, and looked away. Moments later, she glanced at him and smiled. "Thanks Adrien," she smiled gratefully, "it means a lot."

"And I can always ask my dad to look at your designs, if you want," he offered, "I'm sure he'll recognise the potential in you."

Marinette's eyes widened. Adrien wondered if he said anything wrong.

"No!" she exclaimed. Adrien was taken aback by her reaction.

Looking at his expression, Marinette spoke more gently. "I'm sorry, what I meant was that I can't accept your offer, Adrien," she said, softly. "I want to make it big, and your father has been my idol for ages, but I have to _earn_ his respect, not just receive it. I want to work hard for him to notice me, not just because his son asked him to. Everyone in Paris has the same chance as I do, and they didn't get any head- starts, so why should I? I want to prove myself, and do it fairly."

Adrien just looked at her, with respect. Her honesty and sense of morality surprised him, and he couldn't believe how good-hearted and fair she was. If anyone had been in her position, they would have accepted his offer immediately. Marinette was not like the rest. She wanted to make her way up by working hard, truthfully and justly.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked, her face worried. "I didn't mean to offend you. Your offer was really generous, but I'm sorry: I can't accept it."

"You didn't offend me. In fact, you really earned my respect. I'm glad to be your friend, Marinette," Adrien said proudly.

She gazed at him with happiness, unable to believe her ears. Swiftly though, her expression changed to a mischievous one.

"Oh by the way, I'm paying." She walked off before Adrien could realise what just happened.

"Hey, no that's not fair, I am! Wait up!" He almost stumbled over his chair, as he rushed to follow her. But he managed to come to a truce. They took their fair shares.

As they went out of the café, Adrien decided to make the playing field even.

"Last one to college has to take the other to dinner," he announced before sprinting ahead.

"Hey, you got a head start! That's cheating!" she yelled, as she started running.

Adrien laughed but Marinette was the one who had the last laugh. She won and Adrien admitted his defeat. But in truth, he was the real winner, because he won a chance to see her again.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the super long wait!**

 **Hope you like the chapter!**

* * *

Across the night sky, there were two figures that raced across the horizon; one was the figure of a black cat, the other a red-clad lady. As the night deepened, both figures finally halted and came to a rest, as they sat atop a roof, their legs hanging off the edge.

"I think that's enough for tonight," Ladybug declared, heaving a sigh. It was difficult balancing civilian life with superhero life, and night patrols especially put a toll on Ladybug.

Chat just nodded mutely. Ladybug turned to look at him, and saw his brow furrowed, tension lines prominent on his forehead.

"What are you thinking about, kitty?" Ladybug asked, a little concerned. Usually Chat was upbeat and energetic, but she noticed that tonight, his usual cheery demeanour was a little off.

"Oh, um, nothing really," Chat lied. He didn't like to keep secrets from his lady, but he was constantly being invaded by the same thoughts over and over again. He didn't know how much more he could take.

Ladybug raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. If her partner wanted to tell her, he would, when he was ready. And selfish as this may seem, Ladybug quite liked this serious version of Chat. He was focused and on task, and it made the patrol a lot easier without the constant, frivolous comments he made.

But she still missed him, Ladybug thought, because although she would never admit it, she enjoyed his little puns and banter. It lightened up the mood.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, my Lady. This cat has to head back for a catnap." The joke was perfectly in place but the tone wasn't right. He kissed her hand, like always, and smiled at her, but the brightness in his eyes had dimmed slightly. Ladybug wondered what he was thinking to make him so distracted.

"Okay, take care," she said, as she watched him go, and decided it was time for her to leave as well.

* * *

"Okay, Adrien, you have to tell me what's going on. " After Chat had detransformed, Plagg decided to confront Adrien about his strange behaviour. Adrien just sat on his bed, putting his hands on his head.

After a while he spoke up, his voice a little hoarse.

"I'm conflicted, Plagg," he said with despair, "and I don't know what to do. I've always been convinced that I'm in love with Ladybug but now I'm not so sure."

Plagg scrunched his eyebrows. This was unusual. "Well, what made you change your mind?"

"No, I haven't changed my mind, it's just that," he paused, uncomfortable, "it's just, there's another girl who has really made me think differently, opened my eyes more."

Now Plagg understood. "It's Marinette, isn't it?" he asked, though he knew the answer without Adrien having to say it. Plagg had always been hidden in Adrien's shirt when he met with Marinette and being his kwami, Plagg knew when a change came over his Miraculous beholder. It was inevitable, he supposed, that Adrien would fall in love with Marinette as well as Ladybug. He loved all aspects of Ladybug, and that meant he would have to fall in love with Marinette eventually.

Plagg couldn't alleviate Adrien's dilemma, because although he had the knowledge to do so, he was bound; they had decided amongst themselves not to reveal identities, and Plagg couldn't intervene. He had to wait for destiny to unfold and that meant having to see his kitten suffer.

Plagg sighed. "Adrien, there's nothing I can do to help you," he said, but not harshly: even he knew that this was not the time to fool around. "You'll have to come to your own terms about your emotions. That's all I can say."

Adrien shook, and his kwami wondered if he had said the wrong thing. But sometimes, the truth was painful but one couldn't deny it.

"I know, Plagg, but _I just don't know anymore!_ " he yelled. The bed shook but Plagg waited, patiently. He waited for him to calm down.

A while later, Adrien spoke. "I'm sorry, Plagg, that wasn't fair. I'll try to control myself from now on."

He lay back on his bed, looking up to the ceiling. "You know, I think the problem is that I'm thinking too hard," he said to Plagg, quietly. "Maybe I should just let it play out, see what happens."

He closed his eyes. "I feel like I'm… betraying one or the other. But there's nothing I can do about it."

Plagg hovered near Adrien's face. "Look, I know it's a hard time for you but don't push yourself so hard. It'll work out." He paused. "Now, don't you have a date to prepare for tomorrow?"

At that, Adrien sat up abruptly. "It's not a date, we're just going to dinner," he protested.

"Yeah, just the two of you. Sounds like a date to me." Plagg shrugged, hiding his grin.

Adrien mumbled to himself but didn't refute him. He fell down back on his back and closed his eyes. Plagg quietly turned off the lights and nestled into Adrien's hair. _If only he knew,_ Plagg thought, as they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"So…is there anything you want to tell me?" Alya prompted.

Marinette let out a small, nervous laugh. "Um, what's there to tell?" she asked, fiddling with her pigtails.

Alya sighed. Sometimes, that girl could be so clueless.

"Okay, Marinette, if you won't tell me then I'll just have to phone Adrien and ask him myself…" she trailed off, letting the threat hang.

"No!" Marinette shouted, before covering her mouth with her hands.

Alya smirked. "Then tell me what's been happening between you two," she said, feeling victorious.

The designer groaned. There was really no point evading Alya; she would prick and prod the truth out of you somehow.

"Fine," Marinette conceded, "we met up a few days ago at the café that you and Nino always go to. And then we had a race where I beat him, and now he has to take me to dinner tonight as a forfeit."

Alya's eyes widened in mock shock. She knew this already; it was now both Nino and her full time job to monitor the 'Adriennette' situation, as she liked to call it. Nino hadn't approved of that name but she didn't care. She knew it would catch on, eventually.

"Girl, you've been holding out on me," she accused, her eyes narrowing. But then she let go of her frown and rushed over to her best friend to give her a hug.

"This must be so exciting for you!" Alya squealed while Marinette covered her ears. "You're going on a date with your high-school crush! With ADRIEN FREAKING AGRESTE!"

"Now you've done it," Marinette muttered, as her mother came upstairs to see what all the commotion was about. Alya sent her a silent 'whoops' in her direction.

"Girls, you're scaring the customers with all the noise up here," Sabine said before eyeing Marinette curiously. "Now what's this I hear about a date with Adrien Agreste, hmm?"

Before Marinette could flounder and make up an excuse, Alya ran up to Sabine and held her hands.

"Adrien's taking Marinette to dinner tonight! Isn't that romantic?" she said excitedly, twirling around in a circle pulling Mrs Dupain-Cheng with her.

Marinette couldn't help but laugh at the scene. Her mother was looking shocked- whether that was because of her date or being whirled around by Alya, she wasn't sure.

"Okay Alya, calm down," Marinette finally said, though it was hard to disguise her own excitement. Sabine held onto the desk for support as she tried to get rid of the dizziness, while Alya was still leaping and dancing around Marinette's room.

"Marinette, you never told me about this," Marinette's mother asked.

"Ha ha, um, well, I guess it never came up," Marinette said weakly.

Sabine smiled. She remembered Adrien; it had been a few years back when he had visited the household, and he had been extremely polite and kind to the entire family. And also, her daughter would constantly talk about him, so he was hard to forget.

"Well, I hope you have a lovely time," she said, clasping her daughter's hands. Marinette looked at her mum gratefully, as well as her best friend. Really, Marinette felt fortunate to have such amazing, kind-hearted and accepting people around her.

"Thanks maman," she said.

"However, I must insist that you girls keep it down. Otherwise you're going to have to help me clean the dishes…" Sabine warned.

Both girls looked at each other, sheepishly.

"Okay, I'll try not to get _too_ excited when I get Mari ready," Alya compromised.

Sabine laughed. "See you two later," she said, before leaving to tend the bakery once more.

Marinette slumped on her chaise and closed her eyes. It had been a tiring night, and she was currently suffering from sleep deprivation. She just wanted to take a small nap when her phone buzzed.

"What is it now?" she moaned.

Alya picked it up and stared intently at the screen. "I think you've got an email."

"Open it up for me will you? I'm really way too tired to check."

Alya opened the mail. She stared at the screen for a long time.

Then she let a small yelp.

Marinette jumped about a foot in the air, startled. "What? What happened?"

This time, the footsteps up the stairs were not so light. They were heavier, and more insistent.

"Girls, I thought that Sabine just made it clear not to make so much noise up here," Tom stated.

"I am so sorry, Mr Dupain-Cheng," Alya gushed, "but Marinette got through the first round of the Design Competition!"

"Wait, I got through?" Marinette cried.

"That's great, sweetie! I'm so proud of you," Tom praised, his moustache curling up as he beamed at his daughter.

"This is unbelievable! I can't believe I got through the first round!"

"Maybe you can't believe it but I can!" Alya rushed over and hugged her best friend. "Way to go, girl!"

"I'm really happy for you both," Tom interjected, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to make you both wash the dishes. We can't have the customers getting any more frightened by you boisterous youngsters," he said fondly.

Marinette and Alya looked at each other, then at Tom in guilt. "Sorry!"

They sheepishly followed the baker down the stairs and started scrubbing. But having each other by their sides made their punishment bearable. Also, the fact that Mr Dupain-Cheng gave them both macaroons to share made it better too.

Once they were done, they rushed back upstairs. Alya seated Marinette firmly on her chair.

"Now, there are just a few things to remember when you're on a date," Alya began.

Marinette gulped. Where was this heading to?

"So, talk about things you both like, but if he starts talking about himself, it's good to listen. Guys love talking about themselves," Alya reiterated, rolling her eyes. She honestly had heard too much about DJ stuff from Nino, and she was pretty sure she could write a top-notch essay on how to mix music.

Marinette nodded. Her best friend continued.

"If he makes jokes, laugh at them."

The designer frowned. "Even if they're not funny?"

"Especially then. He needs to know you're interested. So if you can't be _interesting_ , you've got be _interested_."

Mari rolled her eyes. "Okay, now I'm pretty sure you're just making fun of me."

The journalist grinned. "Just remember to have fun and be yourself."

"That is actually the worst piece of advice you've given so far."

"All right, all right, be the _best_ version of yourself then."

"I'll try."

They laughed before Alya decided it was time Marinette got ready. She just hoped Nino had followed her precise notes on what advice to give Adrien for his date tonight, and had not ended up improvising.

* * *

Nino looked at the notebook Alya had given him. The list went on for about four pages.

He chucked it on Adrien's bed. He would just have to improvise.

"Hey dude, you ready yet?" Nino called. It wasn't like Adrien to take this long in the shower.

The door clicked and Adrien walked out. Nino gasped.

"What?" Adrien asked. He wondered if he looked really bad.

Nino took in the outfit. Adrien had put on a simple white shirt with black trousers, with a casual jacket in his hand. The DJ knew that, despite being the son of a famous fashion designer, Adrien tried to keep his outfits and looks on the low-low. _He must really be hyped,_ Nino thought. Adrien was actually wearing a designer suit.

Nino whistled. "Looking good, bro!" he winked.

The blond blushed before sitting down on his chair. "I didn't overdo it, did I?" he asked self-consciously.

"Nah," Nino said, waving a hand in dismissal, "you look…" he contemplated for the right word. "Minimalist," he finally concluded, nodding approvingly.

"Wow, minimalist," Adrien echoed, "thanks for the amazing compliment. Do you even know what it means?"

"I'm offended. We're studying minimalist music in class right now. Of course I know what it means."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure that the definition for minimalist in music was different in comparison with someone's looks, but he didn't comment.

"Okay, I'd better get going then," Adrien started but Nino stood up and blocked his path.

"Hold on mister," the DJ said, palms up. "There are a few things you need to keep in mind."

"Nino, I don't have time for this," Adrien complained but the look his best friend gave made him shut up.

"Now, the first thing to remember is talk about things she likes. Do NOT start talking about yourself- girls get sick of that." Contrary to what Alya perceived, Nino knew perfectly well his lectures on music would really get on his girlfriend's last nerve, but he did it anyway. It was fun to see her eyes glaze over, and that bored look on her face.

Without waiting to see if Adrien was listening, Nino moved on.

"Look, I know you like your puns but don't make jokes. It doesn't make a good impression."

Adrien was getting tired of this. And why did everyone think this was a date? They were just going out for dinner, just the two of them, that's all. Friends did that all the time.

"Nino, for the last time, I don't have time for this-"

"Whatever. Now the most crucial thig to remember is this: do not be yourself. Just… don't."

His best friend rolled his eyes but inside he felt a pang of sadness. Don't be yourself? That was too easy. He was living under a mask practically all the time, whether it was as Adrien Agreste or as Chat Noir. Being someone else wasn't something he had to practice- it came naturally.

Though recently… Marinette made him feel as if he _could_ be himself. He noticed he wasn't on his guard all the time, and being around her felt like second nature. It was strange he discovered this recently, and not when they were in high school. He regretted not taking out his time to know his classmate more back then.

"Yoo-hoo, Adrien? Hello, anyone in there?"

Adrien blinked. "Sorry, what?"

Nino sighed. "I was telling you that you're going to be late for your date."

"It's not a date," Adrien mumbled for the fifth time that day, but shrugged on his jacket and started making his way out, with a smile unintentionally creeping out from the side of his mouth.

He couldn't wait to see her.

* * *

 **I hoped you liked that chapter! A huge thank you to everyone who liked, reviewed and is following this story!**

 **Once again, thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's another chapter as a way of apologising for taking ages to update!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Marinette walked over to the table that the waiter had shown her, and sat on the chair nervously. This was the first time she was really going to see him in a 'date' environment. Okay, sure they had met before, in the café, but that didn't really count. And all that advice that Alya had given her was freaking her out.

Sighing, she got her phone out and randomly started flicking through her pictures. Hmm, she really needed one with Adrien in it. Maybe they could do that after.

"Excuse me, but is this seat reserved?"

Marinette looked up to see a boy cockily grinning at her. He was cute enough, with brown hair that swept past his forehead and cool, blue eyes but the smirk really put her off. As well as the fact that he was leaning on the chair and acting as if he owned the place.

"Yes," Marinette answered coolly, "Can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like a date for the night," the boy grinned, shamelessly. "You seemed pretty alone."

Marinette was just about to snap at him when a voice replied, "She's not alone."

She turned to see a very angry Adrien.

"She's with _me,_ " he said, the threat underlying in his voice. Marinette saw his hand curl into fists. "I suggest you leave now."

The brunette boy glared back. "Oh yeah? What if she wants me around instead of you?"

"I can assure you that is _not_ going to be the case," Marinette interjected, "so please, just leave." She smiled sweetly at him and gave a small wave, indicating for him to go.

The brunette huffed and stormed off, knocking into Adrien's shoulder on the way. The blond stiffened, his shoulders tensed but he took a deep breath and calmed down. He took a seat opposite Marinette.

"Mari, are you alright? That guy didn't bother you, did he?" Adrien asked, concerned.

The black-haired girl just smiled. "Don't worry, Adrien," she assured him, "you came at just the right time. Otherwise I might have just punched him in the face," she said seriously.

Adrien just stared at her.

Then he burst out laughing.

"Oh my god Marinette, who knew you were so feisty?" Adrien asked, still chuckling.

Marinette grinned. "Well, _someone_ was going to have to punch the jerk. It may as well have been me."

"You would have broken your own hand in the process."

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Ahem," the waiter coughed, who had just appeared a few seconds ago, and was waiting for the right opportunity to interrupt between the couple's conversation. "Would you like to order?"

Marinette blushed, and Adrien thought that rose colour looked beautiful on her. Well, she was looking beautiful anyway, he corrected mentally, with an off-the shoulder red dress, and letting her hair fall to her shoulders.

"Erm, I think I'll go for the pasta," Marinette said, breaking Adrien's reverie. He decided to pick up the menu and quickly skim for some options.

"I'll go for the lamb stew," Adrien finally decided. The waiter nodded, collected the menus and left, leaving them on their own again.

Marinette smiled at Adrien, but inside, she was shaking. What had Alya told her again? Oh right. Let the guys talk about themselves.

"So, did you do anything fun these few days?" she ventured.

Adrien shook his head, rueful. "I have so much work to do, it's unbelievable," he said, "I have to read this textbook about Quantum Physics-"he stopped abruptly. Damn! Nino had told him not to talk about himself too much. Otherwise she would get bored, and probably be really uninterested in him. He didn't know why that bothered him so much.

"But never mind about me," Adrien smoothly covered up, "what about you? How's that Design Competition coming along?"

Marinette's eyes sparkled. "Oh, I didn't get the chance to tell you: I made it through the first round!"

Adrien's smile grew wider. "Congratulations! That's awesome! I knew you'd make it," he added confidently.

The designer hid her face with her hair, so you could only see the side of her cheek. "I still have four more rounds to go through," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but you'll make it. And then I'll get to model world famous designer Marinette's line-"

"Shh! Everyone's going to hear you!"

"And so they should," Adrien boasted, but didn't press any further. Lowering his voice, he looked deep into her eyes, bright as blue orbs. "You need to see yourself clearly," he said softly, "you don't know how talented you are."

Marinette blushed so hard, it matched her dress. "Thank you, Adrien."

Their eyes held the moment before Marinette coughed and brushed a lock of hair past her ear. Adrien scratched the back of his neck nervously, furiously thinking of a way to get a conversation going, and stop making this more awkward.

Before he could say anything though, Marinette beat him to it.

"Oh my goodness, this is so silly," she complained.

Adrien quirked one eyebrow.

"I'm sorry," Marinette corrected, explaining herself. "Look, I don't want to embarrass you by saying this, but…Alya was giving me some advice before I was coming here, and I was just thinking how silly it was."

It was true. She had had enough of going through all of Alya's advice through her head over and over. It felt so…claustrophobic. Why should she be restricted in what she should or shouldn't say? Marinette just wanted to enjoy this evening with Adrien, as friends at least, without worrying about all the details of what was customary on a 'date'. Besides, Adrien probably didn't consider this as a date, anyway: so, why should she worry?

Adrien smiled. "You know, Nino came around to my house to give me advice, too," he confided.

Marinette's eyes bulged. "Seriously? No way! Oh, I am telling you, Alya sent him there. You know, I'm pretty sure she's involved in all the things that we're doing together. Today, she interrogated me about what we were doing at the café. I told her, we were just hanging out, but she doesn't believe me." Marinette continued to rant about her best friend, but Adrien wasn't listening.

He was too busy dawning on the fact that Marinette and he were now a 'we', no longer separate in what they did. He was favouring the word.

We. Together. It sounded so nice.

At her expectant expression, it was clear that the model had missed a question that he had just been asked.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound rude.

Marinette put one hand over her mouth.

"What?" Adrien asked again.

"I'm speaking too much, aren't I?" she said sheepishly. She looked so guilty, Adrien just wanted to comfort her.

"No, of course not."

"If you get annoyed at my blabbering too much, just tell me to shut up."

"Never," he said, shocked that she would request such a thing. "I would never get annoyed with you speaking. On the contrary," he said with a gentle smile, "I love to hear you talk."

Marinette blushed for the third time.

"Anyway, what were you saying?" Adrien asked, steering the conversation back to the point.

"Oh right. I was wondering if you think Alya and Nino are up to something. Call me paranoid, but I feel they're keeping an eye on us."

Adrien considered her words. A movement behind a plant pot situated a few tables behind Marinette caught his eyes, before he narrowed them. "Hmm, you know, I think you're on to something," he deliberated. Casually, he leant forward a bit.

There was another flicker of movement behind the pot.

Adrien leaned back.

During this exchange, Marinette was watching Adrien curiously. Adrien was about to open his mouth to explain what he was doing before realization struck her.

"They're here, aren't they?" she asked rhetorically, because she already knew the answer. "They're hiding behind us."

Adrien nodded appreciatively. "Wow, that was quick," he noticed.

She shrugged. "I've known Alya too long," she said, before focusing on Adrien again. "Should I tell them to leave?"

Gears were turning inside Adrien's head. It was clear that Nino and Alya were plotting to get him and Marinette together behind their backs, and it would explain a lot of the coincidences that were happening lately. Maybe they should get a dose of their own medicine.

"I know you're plotting something diabolical," Marinette said casually, looking at her nails, making the comment as if she was commenting on the colour of the table. She looked up. "So, what's the plan?"

Adrien smirked. "You already know what I'm thinking, don't you?"

She shrugged. "I'm thinking that Alya and Nino have a lot of explaining to do on why they've been spying on us all this time. I say we trick them."

"My thoughts exactly," Adrien confirmed.

Wow. She was smart and devious, and she could read his mind.

He was starting to fall in love with this girl.

* * *

Alya didn't agree with Nino on this one.

I mean, hiding behind a plant? She was _so_ much more professional than that.

Hiding under a table would have been better.

Anyway, both of them were frantically trying to see if anything was getting interesting. For now, they were just talking, but Alya had almost leapt in excitement when Adrien leaned closer to Marinette. Was he going to kiss her!?

Alas, no. He just leaned back again, and he didn't look uncomfortable or flustered at all. Alya sat back down dejectedly.

"Psst, Nino," she hissed, not taking her eyes off the couple, "are you taking pictures?"

No answer.

Annoyed, the journalist turned around to see that her boyfriend was stuffing his face with enchiladas.

"Nino!" she hissed again, this time with more anger. Coming out of his stupor, he looked at her with wide eyes, salsa all over his mouth.

"What?" he tried to say with his mouth full.

"I swear to the gods, you can be so darn useless sometimes!" Alya exclaimed as quietly as she could so they wouldn't break their cover. "I mean, seriously, we're on a stealth mission, and you decide to order _food_?"

"Hey!" he protested, "I got hungry! And besides," he said, taking another bite, "it's not a stealth mission. It's a date. At a restaurant. So ordering food was very appropriate."

The journalist rolled her eyes but she got out her binoculars and started spy… _observing_ them again. This was Marinette's first date with her long-childhood crush, Adrien! She was so proud of her. Making it this far, and she hadn't even embarrassed herself yet. She must have really taken on board her advice.

However, she noticed they both finished their food a little too quickly. Hmm, that was strange. Marinette was usually quite a slow eater. What was the rush? Surely she would want to preserve this moment for longer.

She kept peering at them through the plant pots. A waiter walked by and stopped, giving them a confused glance but walked right past again. Well, they had been there for a while now. They probably had gotten used to the two teenagers behind their foliage.

Adrien stood up, and Mari was soon to follow. It was still so sweet to watch the little gentlemanly things Adrien did, like pull the chair out for Marinette, and hand over her coat. Alya could barely conceal her squeal when Adrien held Marinette's hand as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Nino, come on, we have to follow them!" Alya exclaimed, jumping up from behind the plants. Nino came up as well, and they both started following the pair, dashing behind a corner or a statue to avoid them noticing.

"I can't wait to plan their wedding for them!" Alya gushed. "We've already got a ton of pictures, and I'm sure I can find loads of potential sets for their reception!"

Nino looked at her, a little sceptic. "Um, don't you think you're going too fast?" he pointed out. "I mean, shouldn't we just let _them_ decide?"

Alya considered that for a millisecond. "I could, but Mari's not really good with the punctuality thing, you know? I have to plan everything out for her, otherwise things may not run smoothly. Besides, how long have you waited to see them together?"

Nino thought about it. True, he used to crush on Marinette, but after getting to know Alya better, Marinette was just a really good friend to him. And Adrien and Marinette looked perfect together. He _had_ been looking forward to setting them up, though he wasn't as enthusiastic as Alya.

"Alright," he conceded, "but I'm taking all of the pictures from now on, okay?"

Alya grinned. "Fine by me."

Nino grinned too but his smile melted. "Dude, where did they go?" he asked aloud.

"Nino, what have I told you about calling me dude…wait, you're right. Where are they?"

The pair looked around them, but Adrien or Marinette were nowhere in sight. They had gotten so carried away with their future plans, they totally forgot to keep a track of the two lovers.

Alya smacked her forehead in irritation. "So much for trying to get them together."

"Maybe you should have just let _us_ to handle it," a voice called.

They turned around to see Adrien standing there with his arms crossed, and a very angry Marinette.

Alya gave out a nervous laugh. "Well, I guess we found you both!"

Marinette just glared.

Alya couldn't keep it in any longer. "Oh come on, Marinette, you know how excited I was! Don't deny me the chance to at least preserve this moment for you!"

The designer blushed heavily. "Alya, don't turn this around. You know you're the one who was wrong here!"

"And dude," Adrien interjected, "why the heck did you get involved as well?"

Nino put his hands up in surrender. "Okay everyone, since none of you are able to explain this situation properly, let me spell it out for you."

Nino walked up to Adrien and Marinette. "You two. He likes you," he said to Marinette, "and she likes you," he said to Adrien, both of them turning beetroot red. "Since either of you can't do it for yourselves, we helped. Although Alya did go a little _cray-cray."_ Nino admitted.

Behind him, Alya fumed. "Hey Mr. DJ," she spoke, "who wanted to take pictures for their album?"

"Guys stop!"

Everyone turned to look at Marinette, whose face was red as a tomato. "Since both of you don't get it, _I'll_ spell it out for _you_ ," she said scathingly to Nino.

She walked up to Alya and went right up to her face. "Alya," she said quietly but menacingly, "you know I love you, but DO NOT EVER do this to me again. Adrien and I," she said, a little hesitant, "we're just…friends. So please don't try and spy on us again."

Adrien looked at her, surprised. Friends? Surely they were more than that. Did friends take each other out for dinner? Did friends prank their other friends who were spying and trying to set them up?

It was funny how quickly he changed from denying that he and Mari were on a date to accepting it. He was shocked that his heart twisted when the two of them, the 'us', was just a mediocre 'friends' now. But perhaps Marinette didn't want to give Alya and Nino the benefit of the doubt. After all, they were trying to convince them that setting them up was _not_ a good idea, but in fact, some part of Adrien thanked them for starting this.

"Fine, I won't go behind your backs again," Alya huffed.

"Thank you," Marinette replied before turning to Adrien, with a slight smirk. "I think that would be mission accomplished, don't you think?"

"Don't you mean _mews_ sion accomplished?" Adrien joked.

Marinette stared at him in disbelief. _Not him, too,_ she thought. "Okay, I'm sorry Alya, but I can't take your advice on this one. It wasn't even _close_ to funny," Mari declared before storming off ahead, leaving Adrien wondering what she was talking about.

Alya just shrugged and joined her as the boys trailed after them, but she smiled.

Her advice had worked wonders.

* * *

 **Hope you liked that chapter! Once again, thank you all SO MUCH for following, liking and reviewing this story! It cheers me up! xx**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi I'm back! Thanks for being patient with me!**

 **Hope you like this chapter, and thanks to everyone who followed, favourite and reviewed this story! It means a lot!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Adrien stared out the window in boredom.

The rain splashed against the glass, falling down the window pane as each second ticked by. The dull, grey clouds and the lack of light made Adrien's eyes feel heavier, and his head tilted forward.

He mentally told himself to wake up before his head could reach the table.

Usually, Adrien looked forward to his lessons. He would make notes copiously and eagerly listen to ever word his professor would dictate. His hand would be the first to shoot up whenever a question was asked.

Today, however, was different.

It was another one of those 'marking' days. Their professor would mark their recent assignments while they would silently read the next chapter for tomorrow's lesson. Adrien didn't mind these lessons too much, but today was dragging. The weather wasn't helping, either.

His eyes glazed over the chapter he'd already read beforehand. He completed reading it in the morning of his date with Marinette.

Suddenly, Adrien didn't feel so tired anymore. His thoughts wandered to the way she looked that night.

Beautiful. There were simply no other words that came to mind. He only wished he had complimented her more that evening, and told her how the red dress brightened her blush, how it darkened her black-blue hair and made her skin look porcelain-like. Beautiful.

She was so funny, too. Her cheery demeanour lightened up his world and her quick, sharp mind was aweing to witness. And when they sneaked up on Alya and Nino that night…well, it was the most fun he had had for a long time. Well, except for that time he raced her from that café.

Adrien could almost visualise her now. Her hair swept into a ponytail, her figure perfectly framed by a mint summery dress…

Wait a minute. He wasn't imagining things. She was _actually there_.

"Marinette?" he whispered in surprise. What was she doing here?

It was as if she could hear him, which was impossible, as she turned her head towards him and winked.

Now Adrien was even more surprised.

She walked over to the professor and silently started talking with him, occasionally referring to the piece of paper that was in her hand.

No one seemed to have noticed her, though. As Adrien looked around, everyone was deep in their reading and writing.

"Adrien Agreste," his professor called, breaking the silence in the room. "Please come here, and bring everything with you."

Gulping, he grabbed his bag and his textbook, stuffing it as fast as possible. He made his way down the steps of the lecture hall and towards the teacher's desk, ignoring the looks his classmates were giving him and his pounding heart.

"Yes?" Adrien asked, in front of his professor's desk, giving Marinette a questioning glance. She just smiled, giving no clue as to why she was here whatsoever.

"It seems this young lady needs your assistance with her project. As long as you finish your reading outside of class, ready for next lesson, I have no problem with you going with her," Adrien's professor stated.

Adrien blinked. "I've already read the chapter, sir," he explained, before turning to face Marinette with wide eyes. "But how can I possibly help Marinette with her project? I can't design like her!" he exclaimed as he turned to face his teacher again.

The old teacher chuckled while Marinette smirked, shaking her head a little. "You are a model, are you not?" he asked rhetorically. When Adrien continued to stare at him, the professor sighed and looked at Marinette.

"You can take him with you," he approved. "He's my best student, but he's not as quick as you, my dear," he said with a knowing smile. The designer smiled sheepishly before walking out. Adrien looked at his teacher once before following her. It seemed as if he got complimented and roasted at the same time.

"So, why do you need me?" Adrien asked, running to catch up with the black-haired girl. "Not that I mind, of course," he said quickly.

She giggled. "Well, I thought you'd be bored so I spared you the misery of going through a lesson you've already completed," she said, as they turned around a corner. "Besides, I could use some company, too."

"So now you can read my mind?" Adrien asked, shocked at her accuracy.

She glanced over her a shoulder before turning around. Adrien could almost imagine her smirk. "No, you just told me about it, remember?

Had he? He couldn't remember.

"Besides," Marinette continued, "your teacher was right. You _can_ help me." She led him into an empty classroom. As she turned around to face him, she sighed at his vacant expression.

"Adrien," she said exasperated. "You're a model. I need your measurements for my design."

It finally clicked. He looked embarrassed at the ground, scratching the back of his head. "Oh, right. Well, I'm so glad you brought me here with you," he said honestly, putting his all of his stuff on top of a table. "That lesson was really making me fall asleep."

She chuckled. She brought over her sketchpad and sat down, and Adrien followed suit. For some bizarre reason, Adrien couldn't take his eyes off her.

"So this is the design I'm working on," she said, as Adrien hastily moved his eyes to where Marinette was pointing. "I just need some measurements before I can actually make the clothes. I've already sent in a record of my designs, this is just a copy for me to work from, so the judges can have a look at the practicality of the ideas."

"And that's the second round, then?"

"Yes. Then, if I get through, they'll want the clothes themselves and they'll analyse the fit, techniques and so on. I have no idea what the fourth round is, though. It's a mystery challenge apparently."

Marinette looked up and smiled at him. "But for now, I can just concentrate on making the clothes, and that's the fun part," she said happily.

Adrien couldn't help but smile at her excitement. "Well, take me if you must," he said seriously, pretending to look afraid.

She laughed, and dragged him over to where there were a few manikins standing. The designer grabbed a measuring tape and began by measuring the width of his arm.

Adrien sucked a breath in. Marinette was so close, he could smell her beautiful, flowery scent. At every touch, he swore his skin heated up like fire.

After what it seemed like was an eternity, she said he was free.

"Sorry about that," she said, faintly pink in the cheeks. "It just helps me if I have more figures to work from. It'll make everything more accurate."

"It's fine," he said, though his cheeks still felt as if someone had pressed hot coals on them.

The black-haired girl walked over to a sewing machine and started to cut fabric and placed them on the machine. She looked apologetically at him.

"I won't take long," she promised, as she began sewing.

Adrien decided to look around the classroom in the meantime. It was fairly clean, but there rolls of fabric almost at every corner. Instead of standard desks, there were sewing machines placed at the top of every desk while at the back, there were other equipment present that he had no idea how to use. There were a few manikins, but only two were free.

The model walked up to the manikins and stared at the clothing in amazement. It was for women, and the first design was so chic, so sleek. The second was elegant but sweet and subtle. Looking upon closer inspection, there were small, delicate details that added to the overall stunning effect.

"Do you like them?"

Adrien turned around to see Marinette behind him looking curious.

"They're incredible," he said truthfully, before realising something. "Wait, did you make them?" he asked in surprise.

She nodded, walking up to the next manikin which was bare. She started pinning the fabric she had recently sewed in places. "I've done the women's part of the line, but I had to wait for Mr Model over here to actually start on the male designs," she said playfully.

"I never realised being a model had its perks," Adrien said playfully back at her.

"If by perks you mean getting poked and prodded, then yes. Come here, I need to make some adjustments."

"Yes miss."

Marinette punched him playfully. She handed him a blazer which Adrien put on.

"It's pretty comfortable," he said.

"What were you expecting, prickled pieces of Velcro?"

"Well, since it's you we're talking about, pretty much, yeah."

"Hey, I'm nice!"

"As I recall," Adrien interjected, pretending to think, "you were considering to punch someone in the face. Very nice of you," he said solemnly.

"Yeah, well, that guy had it coming," she muttered dangerously under her breath. "Now stand still, otherwise this will hurt."

Adrien became a statue, as Marinette walked around him and occasionally put something at the side of the coat, and scribbling her observations on her notepad.

Finally, she took it off him.

"I've almost finished the blazer, just give me a few seconds…" she said and true to her word, a classic, smart blazer adorned the next manikin.

"Well I hate to say this but I'm impressed," Adrien said, before grinning at her. Marinette grinned back.

"And I hate to say this too, but I'm afraid you're going to have to stick with me a bit longer," she said with a tinge of regret in her voice, but the smile on her face gave away the lie.

Adrien felt it was a great proposition.

* * *

It took the entire college day, and a few hours afterwards too, but eventually, Marinette got the designs completed. And it helped that she had Adrien beside her side. He kept the mood light; cracking jokes here and there but was constantly encouraging. It felt good just to hang out, Marinette thought. There was no worries, no stress about what she could or couldn't do. She could just enjoy his company.

"I think we both deserve a treat," Marinette declared, after finally clearing away everything.

"I agree," said Adrien. "You deserve it for completing everything and I deserve it for putting up with you all day," he said, with mock exasperation.

"I'm going to get you for that!" Marinette threatened, and soon, a walk to the ice-cream shop became a chase.

"You, you put up a good fight, Adrien Agreste," panted the designer. Adrien clutched his sides as he caught his breath too.

"As do you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

She smiled. "So how about that ice-cream?"

Adrien grinned. He grabbed her hand and they went into their favourite shop.

They emerged soon after, still holding hands. Adrien insisted to walk Marinette home, despite the fact that Marinette had protested that she could handle herself. But she was glad all the same. She wanted to make this moment last for longer.

They finally reached the bakery.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Adrien said. He felt unwilling to let her go just yet.

"Yeah, I guess," Marinette echoed. Why were her insides feeling so fluttery all of a sudden?

She pushed them down, and instead looked into Adrien's eyes with a smile. "Don't worry, I have another great day of torture planned for you," she joked.

Adrien laughed. He caught a lock of hair that was loose from Marinette's face and tucked it behind her ear. "See you tomorrow," he smiled and turned away.

So when Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng asked their daughter why she was so red in the face, worried she had got a cold, it was understandable that she simply denied everything and ran upstairs, hiding her face into her pillow.

It was also understandable that both heroes that night could be seen to be filled with more energy than usual, smiling a bit more than they did. But after all, it was nobody else's business, was it?

* * *

 **What did you think? Please review, follow and favourite if you liked it!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**New chapter!**

 **Sorry for taking so long but I hope you like it.**

* * *

"I can't believe you and Adrien aren't a couple yet!" Alya whined.

She and Marinette were walking down to the courtyard to have their lunch in their usual spot. The wind was blowing, and students from all around were lounging on the grass and patio in the warm breeze.

Marinette blushed as she sat down. "Alya, I don't even know if he even likes me that way," she admitted.

"Oh, he likes you in that way for sure," Alya said without a doubt, "but what I don't understand is why he's waiting this long! _He needs to make this official!_ " she shouted.

"Keep your voice down!" Marinette hissed, as she saw a few people look at them. "Honestly, Alya, you are so loud." But she lowered her head sadly. "For all I know, he sees me as a friend and nothing more. And that's fine with me. I'm just grateful for his friendship," she said with a small smile despite her voice catching.

Alya felt a pang inside of her. Marinette deserved happiness, and Alya knew how long she had waited just for Adrien to accept her. Reaching out, the journalist held her hand.

"Just wait, Marinette. That day will come when Adrien will realise how important you are. He'll never be able to let you go, ever. And there'll be no one happier than me." She smiled at the designer.

"Actually, I think you're wrong there," said a voice. The two girls looked up to see a familiar face.

"You!" Alya yelled, getting up to her feet. "Why haven't you called me? And why aren't you with Adrien and persuading him to ASK MARINETTE OUT ALREADY?!"

Nino gulped. He forgot how scary his girlfriend could get sometimes.

"I did call you, but it didn't go through because I had no signal. I tried again this morning, but you were busy," he said, looking at Marinette pointedly.

His girlfriend huffed. "Nino, Marinette and I always call in the mornings. It's the only way she can get up on time!"

"Whatever. And second, I can't persuade Adrien to do anything because he specifically asked me not to meddle. And," he stressed, "I'm pretty sure you're best friend also asked you not to meddle, either."

He looked away, and Alya grimaced too. Marinette's glare could be felt from a distance, even when they were not looking at her.

"Fine, you win this time. But I'm warning you," Alya warned, "if you don't call me again I will actually complain to your mother."

"Okay, okay! I will!"

"Good." Alya grinned and turned to look at Marinette. "Oh, stop glaring, I won't interfere-"

A sudden gold caught her eye. She smirked.

"You'd better look the other way Marinette, because your favourite person just arrived."

Surprised, the blue-black haired girl turned around. And try as she might to hide it, a smile creeped out across her face anyway.

"Hey Marinette! Oh, hey Alya, Nino, I didn't realise you guys were here!" Adrien walked over to them and sat beside Marinette.

"How's your day been?" Marinette asked, ignoring Alya and Nino's knowing smirks.

"It was alright," Adrien admitted. _It just got better seeing you_ , he wanted to say, but in the present company, he couldn't.

But even if they were alone, could he still say that? The thing was, they weren't together in that way yet. And even though he wanted to make his move, something always stopped him.

Ladybug.

It wasn't that his love for her was diminishing- it was just that his love for Marinette was growing. It was overpowering everything else. And somehow, he felt he would be better just by loving Marinette. He felt complete. It wasn't one-sided thing, or so he hoped. There was a small fear in his head, that if he did make his move, she would reject him. Yet, he felt that maybe, just maybe, she would say yes.

But would he be breaking his vow, his promise, all those years ago? When he said he loved that red-clad lady?

Adrien decided that today, he would talk to Ladybug. Because he couldn't keep going like this.

However, right now, he was with Marinette. And she made him happy. It was all that mattered to him right now.

Marinette could sense that something was bothering Adrien.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" she suggested.

He looked up and smiled at her. "That sounds great." They rose, and started walking together.

"Hey, aren't we invited?" Nino called with indignation. Alya nudged him.

"Don't ruin any chances of those two getting together," she said. She looked caringly at them both. "They need all the chances they can get."

* * *

The designer and the model walked over the college's park. Marinette looked at Adrien's face. Although there weren't any signs of worry, she knew that he wasn't at peace.

Instead of asking him about it, she decided it would be better to get his mind off of it.

"So there's a carnival in the town centre this weekend," she prompted. "Are you excited?"

Adrien looked up at the sky. "Well, I've never been to one," he said honestly. "But I remember when I was younger, I used to look at the fireworks from my window. I loved watching them; I would stay up all night if I had to."

Marinette felt bad for him. Of course he'd never been to a carnival before. He'd had the hardest childhood of anyone she had ever known.

"I used to do that too," Marinette confided. "My parents wouldn't let me stay at the carnival too late. But when I'd come back, I'd run up to my balcony and stay there in the freezing cold, just to watch them explode in the night."

Adrien smiled. "Maybe we should do that again," he began, "but I don't think I want to be alone this time," he said with a hint.

"Well, we could go together, if you'd like."

And like that, it was done.

Suddenly, Marinette got an idea.

"Hey, you aren't busy next, are you?" she asked, trying to hide her excitement.

"No, my day is pretty much empty now," Adrien replied. He looked at Marinette. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine. Well if you're free, then follow me." With that, Marinette grabbed Adrien's hand and started dragging him along with her.

Adrien couldn't help but smile at her energy. She was so cute, it made his day.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Adrien asked, still being tugged by the determined designer.

"We're almost there," she promised.

They were further into the park now. Adrien had never seen this part before. They approached a small fence. Marinette let go of his hand and walked over to the fence.

"I hope you don't mind jumping," she said with a smirk, as she agilely swung her legs over the fence and was immediately on the other side.

"Is that a challenge?" said Adrien, and without wasting a second, took a step back and ran, using his arms to propel himself up and over.

"Show off," Marinette muttered, as Adrien laughed and grabbed her hand again. Marinette led them a little further in before stopping. She turned around to face him, and smiled.

"Close your eyes," she said.

Adrien quirked an eyebrow but shrugged and did as he was told. He trusted her.

He felt himself being dragged a little further until they came to a stop.

"You can open them," said Marinette.

Lifting his eyelids, Adrien involuntarily let out a gasp.

He was standing in the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. The floor was covered with pink, purple and blue petals and in the breeze, petals of cherry blossom whisked past him, coming from the beautiful blossom trees around him. The smell of sweet freesia and peach hit him as he inhaled. A beautiful willow tree had leaves that were swaying in the breeze.

But what really caught his eye was the girl in front of him, her eyes sparkling as she revelled in the beauty amongst them. She skipped to the willow tree, and twirled around in the midst of the falling petals. The pink reflected on her face, enhancing her rosy lips and her lightly stained cheeks.

"Isn't it wonderful here?" Marinette exclaimed, breaking him of his reverie.

"It's beautiful," he said, looking at her face. "How did you find this place?" Adrien said, looking around again.

"Oh, I come here for inspiration for my designs."

That would explain why her designs were so full of beauty, vigour and novelty.

They sat down at the base of the willow tree, shoulders touching. Adrien glanced at Marinette.

"What's your favourite colour?" he asked, suddenly.

Startled, Marinette looked at him. "What? Why?"

"Your favourite colour. I've never asked you what it is."

Marinette closed her eyes as she mused. Adrien bent around, and leaned on his raised knee, watching her, enamoured.

"Cream," she said, finally, eyes still closed.

This time, Adrien was surprised. "Cream?" He would have thought she would have liked pink, or pale blue perhaps. Maybe even red.

Marinette slowly opened her eyes. "Cream reminds of me of home, and the bakery. Not only is cream a colour, it's also a taste and it can even have its own scent. Cream is not just white, where everything is clear and untouched; it has its own tinge of colour, a personality."

She turned her head towards him. "It's also very versatile for clothing too," she said with a wink.

Adrien was still in awe, as he studied her. She really was nothing like anything he'd ever anticipated.

Marinette wasn't superficial, anyone could see that, but she went deeper into ordinary things. She had her own perception of things, and Adrien could see how pure of a person she really was.

He looked at her face, and admired the colour of her skin. "Cream," he agreed softly.

"Anyway, enough about me- what's yours?"

Adrien thought about it. For a long time, red was his favourite colour, not just for the obvious reasons, but also because it represented fate and destiny. But slowly, red was turning into pink, slowly fading into the background. Looking at the scenery around him, he knew his answer.

"Blossom pink," he answered and Marinette looked at him, her eyes wide. "When I see this colour, I'm reminded of joy, happiness and a blush on a certain someone," he said, and as if on cue, Marinette's cheeks were tinged with colour once more.

He reached over and cupped his hand around her face. "It's such a pure colour," he whispered as they leaned closer. "So perfect…"

Suddenly, Adrien's phone ringed.

They both jumped and turned red as they realised what they had been about to do. Adrien fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket while Marinette nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Annoyed, he stood up.

"Hello?" he asked, his tone irritated.

"Hey bro!" Nino's voice sounded over the phone. "Did you want to come around my place today?"

Adrien gritted his teeth together. He walked a little further away, so Marinette wouldn't be able to hear him. "I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You, Nino."

"Huh? Um, what's up? Did I interrupt something…OW ALYA!" There were some scuffling noises on the other side before a voice could be heard again. "Hello Adrien? Its Alya."

"Um, hey Alya."

"I told Nino not to call you, but nothing gets through his clogged head. Did he just ruin something?"

"Uh…"

"OH MY GODS, YOU WERE GOING TO KISS HER, WEREN'T YOU! Nino, if Adrien doesn't kill you, I will! Look what you've done! YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!"

Adrien was impressed Alya figured it out so quickly, but decided to end the call as it was getting him nowhere; those two were just bickering now. He sighed as he headed over to Marinette.

"It was Nino and Alya," he said, disgruntled before Marinette could even have the chance to ask him.

Marinette smiled at his exasperation. True, she was still in shock over what had been about to happen, but she trusted Adrien enough to know he respected her.

Adrien held out one hand and she took it, rising to her feet. "How about some coffee?"

He grinned. "Coffee sounds great."

* * *

Chat Noir jumped across the rooftops, nervous energy making his leaps wider and faster.

It was now or never. He had to talk to her, and explain his feelings. He had to know his guilt was baseless, that he wasn't playing two people at once.

He finally reached the Tower. She was there, her back to him, beautiful as ever, with her hair flowing in the wind, her petite figure lean and strong.

She sensed his presence. She turned around, a smile to greet him.

"Good evening, Chat," she said, walking up to him. "What did you need to speak about?"

Chat gulped. This wasn't going to be easy.

He turned away, so his back was facing her. "Ladybug, please don't judge me, okay? Just hear me out. It's all I ask."

Ladybug stood there, her arm outstretched, confused. "Of course. But why…?"

"I love you. At least, I did. Now…, I can't be sure."

The red-clad lady stumbled back. "What? You…no, it was all a joke. The constant flirting, the puns… it was never serious."

"Just hear me out okay?" Chat said, his heart breaking into a thousand fragments. He knew she never realised his feelings but why was it so hard hearing it from her directly?

Only one thing stopped him from breaking.

An image of Marinette rose from his brain. Her laugh, her smile, her warm touch. Slowly, he felt his heart mending itself, piece by piece and he found the strength to speak.

"I did love you, and some part of me forever will, but now, there's someone else. Don't worry, M'Lady," he said with a hoarse grin, "she won't ever make me forget you, or respect you any less."

Ladybug looked at Chat Noir, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"She's amazing. She brings out the colour in my life and I…I've never felt happier." He turned around to look at her, with a big smile on his face. "I think I love her, and I want to tell her…" he faltered.

"Chat?" Ladybug asked softly.

"I wanted to tell you first, and ask you your…, your permission in a sense. I didn't want to betray you, Milady."

"Oh Chat," Ladybug said fondly as she went over to him and grabbed his shoulders. "You could never betray me, you silly, loyal cat! What are you waiting for? Tell her how you feel!"

His ears perked up. "Really? You…you think I should?"

Ladybug let out a small laugh. "Yes, tell this lucky girl. I hope she accepts your offer. Otherwise, I may have to have a word with her," she said, with a hint of a threat on her voice.

Chat laughed. "You really can make me feel better, Ladybug," he admitted. He looked at her gratefully. "Thank you," he said softly. He bowed, and bent his knees, ready to pounce and leave.

"Before you go Chat," Ladybug said quickly.

"Huh?" he turned to look at her.

"Tell me," she said with a smile. "Does she remind you of me?"

Chat staggered slightly.

He didn't know what to say. Why would she ask him this question, especially after he admitted his feelings for another?

Despite his curiosity, he told her, "Yes, very much. She is strong, beautiful and above all, pure. She certainly shares many of your attributes."

Ladybug smiled. "I am honoured by your loyalty, Chat."

With that, she swung her yoyo and left, leaving both Chat and Adrien confused at her words.

* * *

 **Don't hate me for giving you the angst!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

Marinette didn't know why she said it.

After Chat confessed his feelings for another person to her, she didn't realise why she asked if that person reminded him of her. It was hard to explain but…it just came naturally. She had said it, because it felt strangely right to do so. She wondered if Tikki was influencing her.

But she knew why she had said the latter part. For Chat to love someone, and still see qualities of Ladybug in his lover was a sure sign of his loyalty to her. She wasn't lying: she _had_ been honoured.

Strangely, Marinette felt happy for Chat Noir. There were no feelings of jealousy. She was glad he had found someone that he loved. It was endearing that he asked permission from _her_ , however- as if he needed it!- she thought fondly. He should have just confessed to the one he loved. She would never have opposed.

Sighing, Marinette sat down on her chaise. Now only if Adrien would confess to her… Marinette just wanted some answers. She wanted to know if Adrien actually like her as a friend, or maybe even more.

Ding.

Her phone buzzed. She frowned and looked at the number. It was not one she had seen before, but she picked it up anyway.

"Hello?" she said uncertainly.

"Hello, is this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" asked a voice.

"Yes it is. Who is calling, may I ask?"

"I'm calling from the Institute of Fashion and Design. I would like to inform you that you have passed the second round and are now being projected to the third round."

Marinette could hardly believe her ears. Was this for real?

"I...I…thank you! Oh my goodness, this is incredible!" Marinette squealed, before realising she was talking to the leaders of her entire career. "Oh, um, sorry," she apologised.

"Not a problem," said the voice airily, though it sounded amused. "I would like you to send in your designs by next week so we can begin judging them. We will inform you of the outcome soon after."

"Yes, of course," Marinette said.

"Thank you, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I look forward to receiving your designs." And the line cut off.

The entire room was silent.

Marinette couldn't hold it in anymore. "YES!" she shouted, and promptly started dancing.

"Well done, Marinette!" Tikki congratulated her, as she flew and hugged her Miraculous holder on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks Tikki," Marinette said, finally sitting down after being exhausted jumping around. "It's all thanks to you, though."

"Why is that?"

"You convinced me to enter the competition in the first place," she said. "I never wanted to do it, but I'm glad I did. Thank you for that."

"Anytime, Marinette."

"Do you think I should tell Adrien?" She mused aloud. "But what if I come across as too obsessive? Though I don't want him to think I'm ignoring him…" With a disgruntled sound she laid her head on the table. "I just don't know what to do!"

She didn't have to know what to do, because at that moment, Adrien called _her_.

"Hey Adrien!" Marinette said, trying to control her excitement. "What's up?"

"Marinette," he said, and the sound of his voice saying her name was all that mattered to Marinette. "Can we meet up, like now?"

Marinette hesitated. "Is everything okay?" she asked, trying not to make her voice quiver.

"Oh everything's fine!" he said brightly. "I just wanted to talk to you."

Her heart relaxed. "Oh, sure. In fact, I wanted to tell you something too!"

"So that's why you sound so excited, I was wondering why," he laughed. She couldn't help but laugh along as well.

"So, see you at the Eiffel Tower?" she said.

"Hmm, how about the Trocadero? There'll be fewer people there at this time of day."

Now Marinette was confused. Why would he want to meet where there would be fewer people?

"Um okay, see you there," she said. With that, she cut the line.

"I wonder what he wants to talk about," she said, before grabbing her coat and heading downstairs.

* * *

Adrien was pacing. He was going to do it. Today, he was going to confess to Marinette about his feelings to her.

He really hoped she wouldn't reject him. He didn't know if he could bear it.

And he really hoped that this time, Nino wouldn't interrupt him.

Sighing, he sat down on the steps, looking into the sunset.

"Wow, you're more agitated than a cat around catnip," said a voice inside his jacket.

"Shut it, Plagg," Adrien muttered.

"Humph!" Plagg said in annoyance, skirmishing inside his jacket in an attempt to disturb him, but Adrien's attention was caught elsewhere.

She was here.

Her hair was flowing in the breeze, and her eyes lit with a twinkle when she spotted Adrien.

"Hi," she breathed.

"Hey," he smiled back.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Marinette asked.

"Oh, um, didn't you want to say something to me first?" Adrien stalled.

"Oh right, I did! I made it to the third round in the competition, Adrien!"

Adrien was so happy for her. He wrapped his arms around her. "That's awesome! Well done, Marinette!"

"Thanks Adrien!"

They pulled apart, though unwillingly. Adrien held Marinette's hands.

"Marinette," he said, mustering up his courage, "there's been something I've wanted to tell you for some time now."

Her eyes widened but he kept going.

"You see, we've been getting to know each other really well now," he said, his voice dry and his palms shaking, "and somehow I feel…"

There were sudden screams in the air.

A woman ran past them on the stairs. "There's an akuma, you'd better run!" she yelled, as she rushed past them.

"Oh great," Adrien muttered. Another chance he tried to confess to Marinette, and another interruption!

"I'm really sorry Adrien, but I'll have to hear what you wanted to say later," Marinette said with sincerity. She squeezed his hand. "After all this chaos, I'll meet you right here, ok?"

"Ok." Before he could lose his courage, he kissed her cheek, and left in the opposite direction.

* * *

Ladybug tried to stop blushing but she couldn't. As she fought the akuma, (it was a dog walker who had been insulted by a playground officer), she kept losing her concentration and kept touching her cheek sub-consciously. She noticed Chat giving her a strange look, so she shook her head and narrowed her eyes, focusing on the akuma.

"Chat, destroy the leash. It's in there." She pointed with her head, as she gripped tighter onto the struggling akuma.

"Got it," he said. Activating his cataclysm, he destroyed the leash and Ladybug let go of the dog walker. She grabbed the butterfly before it could go away.

"Whew, I'm glad that's over," she said, after they pounded fists. Her earrings started beeping and she sighed.

"Well, see you later Chat," she said, as bounded off into the air.

"What was up with her?" Chat mused aloud. A sudden coughing caught his attention. He turned to see the dog walker staring at him in confusion and he smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, got to go, everything's fine now, so don't worry!" he yelled, leaping away towards the Trocadero.

Now, if only confessing his love to Marinette would be that easy!

His sigh was the exact replica of Ladybug's a few minutes earlier.

* * *

Marinette sat on the steps of the Trocadero, overlooking the gardens. It was one of her favourite places to design, and strangely, it was here she had designed the feather hat that had won the prize for the fashion competition years ago, that had been run by Adrien's dad.

It only felt right to start designing something right here, right now. It was one of the urges she felt compelled to follow. And if she had been successful then, well who knows; maybe the design she would draw here could be successful too.

She reached for her sketchbook, which of course, she never left her home without. A strange pattern arose but she followed it, determined to follow the feeling inside that guided her.

 _But the hemline is much too high here,_ she thought, _and the arms wouldn't be practical at all being so large and billowy!_

 _But just go with it,_ said her heart. _It doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense- just follow it!_

So she did. Her pencil was flying and her mind was racing. A little touch here, another there…it seemed as if it were meant to be. She didn't think she'd ever drawn something this quickly with such certainty and finesse.

And there. It was complete.

Marinette couldn't help but admire her new creation. The dress had a high neckline like a halter top as well as a high waist- this part was intricately designed and she had decided lace would be perfect for this section. The arms were long and billowy, and had two loops at the shoulders, giving an off-shoulder look. Those loops would be embedded with jewels, while the long arms flowed elegantly. The bottom of the dress was simple and up to the knees, with a slit rising up to the lower waist, a daring move but it didn't ruin the sophistication of the design. And finally, she had paired the dress with custom designed wedge-stiletto shoes, which had two pieces of fabric attached to the top of the ankle strap, forming loops that curved around the foot.

It was just right. It was…

"Gorgeous," said a voice at her shoulder.

"AH!" she yelped, jumping almost two feet in the air before regaining her balance. She turned to see Adrien trying not to laugh at her.

"Oh my gosh, it's just you," she said with a sigh of relief before analysing the situation. "Wait…Have you been watching me draw this entire time?!"

"I have to say, it _is_ very entertaining," the blond winked.

Marinette stood up and looked at him steely.

She punched him in the chest. But not hard, of course.

"Hey, what was that for?" Adrien protested, rubbing his chest.

"Still find me entertaining?" Marinette countered, hands on hips.

"Of course, my little designer," he replied as Marinette blushed at his new nickname for her. "Very much so," he said lacing his arm around her waist and pulling her close.

Marinette's heart pumped louder and she reminded herself to breathe. "Well, next time, do tell me before you spy on me, green eyes," she breathed.

"All right," he agreed, a little too easily. It wasn't like him to give up without a fight.

"So that design," Adrien asked her, still holding her close, "was it for the competition?"

"I don't know," Marinette replied truthfully. "I've sent in all my designs already, but I guess it's good to have a spare…"

She couldn't focus. Their faces were so close. Their noses were practically touching.

"Marinette, I have to tell you something," Adrien whispered.

"Don't tell me you're leaving me here, Agreste," she joked, despite herself.

He chuckled. "No, I wanted to say that I…"

He didn't finish. Because just then, Marinette kissed him.

Moments later, they broke apart, smiling at each other.

"You didn't let me finish," Adrien said with mock anger. But he couldn't hide his grin.

"I didn't need to let you finish," Marinette said, happiness shining in her eyes. "I knew exactly what you were going to say."

They looked at each other, in perfect harmony.

"I love you," they said simultaneously.

As the sun set in the night, and the flowers in the garden sparkled a little brighter than usual, the black-haired girl and golden-haired boy held each other in their arms.

It truly was a wonderful night.

 _Je t'aime._


	10. Chapter 10

"Marinette? Marinette! Yoo-hoo, anyone in there?"

Alya waved her hand in front of the designer, but she just had this goofy grin on her face. Alya sighed- it was time for drastic measures.

"MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!" she yelled into Marinette's ear.

"AAH!" Marinette screamed, jumping so high her knees hit the table. "Ow," she muttered, as she rubbed them.

"Oh my goodness girl, you're _never_ this out of it," Alya stated. "What's the dish?"

"Huh? Oh no, everything's fine," Marinette reassured, but Alya saw that glazed look arriving in her eyes.

"Oh no you don't," she said, grabbing Marinette by the shoulders and shaking them. "Spill."

The designer blushed hard. Alya raised an eyebrow, but Marinette looked away. Wait, did that mean…

"YOU KISSED ADRIEN? OH MY GOSH WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS BEFORE?"

"Because," Marinette said shrugging, "I was just trying to convince myself that it happened, and it wasn't a dream."

Alya just stood there watching her, her eyes big and watery. "My little girl's all grown up," she said, wiping her eyes.

Marinette just shook her head. "Really?" she said, exasperation evident. "You're going all mom-like on me?"

"Well as it's you we're talking about, then yes. You could do with another parent-figure anyway. You need it."

"Hey!"

"What? It's true!"

Both girls laughed and Alya went over and hugged Marinette. "Now you're both officially a couple!" she squealed. "We can double date, meet up every fortnight-"

"Woah, slow down there," Marinette cautioned. "Maybe we should take it slow. I mean, I've never had a, a boy-ff-ri-" she stuttered.

"Oh come on! You can't even say boyfriend? Wow, you're in a worse condition than I thought." Alya said shaking her head, until Marinette punched her arm.

"OW!"

"You had it coming!"

They just laughed together, just like old times. It felt good just to hang out.

"I'm so glad you're finally with Adrien, Marinette," Alya confessed. "I know how long you've been crushing on him, and for you to be together…well, it's just perfect. Now if only my other ship would happen!" Alya wailed.

"Other ship?" Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow. "Have you been having other best friends behind my back all this time, Miss Césaire?"

"No," Alya snorted. "I'm talking about Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Marinette almost stumbled out of her chair. "La-la-ladybug and Cha-chat Noir?" she stuttered. "Wh-, why would you think they would become a coup-pl, couple?"

Thankfully, Alya didn't notice her stuttering. "Well everyone knows Chat Noir _adores_ Ladybug, but Ladybug's playing hard to get. She doesn't give him a time of day, but she must love him. They're perfect together!"

Marinette was just about to respond that Chat didn't love Ladybug but she stopped. Because Chat _did_ love Ladybug. He had said so himself. But now he had stopped loving her, because of her constant rejections.

It was so stupid to think, that she, Marinette, didn't realise that Chat Noir loved her, when the rest of the world did.

"But maybe," she said quietly, "Ladybug _couldn't_ fall in love with Chat Noir, because she already loved someone else."

"True," Alya mused. "But why would she love someone else when the one who really cared for her was right next to her? They're like yin and yang. Perfect, y'know? But it's her life, after all. I'm just thinking about the 'what if'."

"Well it doesn't matter anyway," Marinette said, a hint of bitterness in her voice which surprised her. Alya picked up on it, and frowned at her, questioningly.

"Um, I mean that it's all good now, right?" She said, laughing nervously. "They're just partners, and that's the way it should be. No romance to mess things up, y'know?"

"I guess," Alya trailed off.

"It doesn't matter that Ladybug finally knows Chat loves her," Marinette whispered, too soft for even Alya to hear. "After all, Chat Noir has already found the one of his dreams."

 _What if._

* * *

Chat Noir leapt from roof to roof, finally landing atop the windowsill on the Agreste Mansion. Gently lifting the window that was already slightly ajar, he crept inside, just as his transformation wore off.

"Ugh," groaned his kwami, Plagg. "Did you have to take me for a walk, in the middle of the day?"

Adrien shrugged. "I needed the exercise and so did you."

"Why don't you go and walk with your girlfriend instead?"

At the word girlfriend, he blushed but continued smoothly. "Marinette has a lot of coursework to do. And I have work as well. Besides, we've decided to meet each other at college anyway, as well as going to the carnival this weekend."

"But why couldn't we have just stayed inside?" the kwami huffed.

"Oh quit it, Plagg," the blonde said sternly, before going to sit at his desk.

He breathed deeply, feeling content. After confessing to Marinette, he felt so much lighter, and free. He truly felt happy. As Adrien, feeling this satisfaction was rare and he wanted to cherish every moment.

That wasn't to say he didn't like being Chat Noir. He was given a freedom he never had before and he relished it. But being Chat Noir also meant carrying a burden, that the one you worked with, the one you trusted your entire life with didn't love you back.

At least it was before. Now, it was different.

Confessing to Ladybug made it easier, and suddenly, it was okay that she didn't love him back. It was okay, because he had someone else he loved, and she loved him back too.

It was okay, because he loved Ladybug the right way now, and everything fit.

He was okay.

And he was happy for it.


	11. Chapter 11

The sky was a dark blue sapphire, with a few diamonds as stars here and there. It was clear; not a speck out of place.

Out of nowhere came a bolt of light, breaking the stillness of the night. A thousand shards of colour spread across the canvas and as it was joined by its brothers and sisters, slowly disappeared into a few faded sparkles.

Down below, the town was far from quiet. Cheers erupted throughout and screams of delight from children could be heard as they rode the rollercoasters and spinning teacups.

More than a dozen stalls were set up, some filled with cotton candy, others with flavoured peanuts and spices, or popcorn made fresh to the crisp.

It was more than anything he could have imagined.

Adrien looked around in wonder, unable to decide what to rest his eyes upon. It seemed too fantastic to be real.

"Incredible, isn't it?"

He looked at the petite girl he held hands with, her sapphire eyes sparkling brighter than any diamond. He smiled at her.

"I love it."

* * *

They had probably seen the entire carnival about now, Marinette reckoned. They had tasted all the foods from all the stalls, gone in the haunted house and mocked anything in there that tried to scare them and even tried walking on stilts. It had only been a day since they had started officially dating, but Marinette was already keeping a vigilant eye out for any woman trying to steal her man. I mean, had you seen the way all the girls were looking at him? You could never be too careful.

Well, of course she trusted _Adrien_. She just didn't trust those girls, who were ogling him. She tightened her grip on Adrien's arm, narrowing her eyes simultaneously.

"You look like you're going to kill someone, Mari."

"Oh haha, blondie. Don't act cocky just because you were lucky enough to find a girl like me."

" _Excuse me_! Who was the one who made the first move?!"

"What! No, who said _I just want to talk, Mari?"_ Marinette mocked in her best impression of Adrien.

"Pur-lease! I do not talk like that!"

"Well I beg to differ! And why are you making cat puns? You don't even own a cat!"

"I might do!"

"Um, no, I know everything about you."

"Okay, that's just creepy."

"HEY!"

And so the bickering continued. Little did they realise as they walked through, people were staring at the two, trying to figure them out.

 _'_ _What is it about them? Why are they so… special?_ ' the people pondered, some in envy, others in curiosity.

They seemed to fit so perfectly, so inexplicably carved into one another's souls.

Like the sun and moon.

Fire and water.

Yin and Yang.

So perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise when someone came up to them with a box, opened them to reveal necklaces of yin and yang perfectly fitting together, perfect for a pair that represented this truth.

"Oh my, they're beautiful but…we can't!" Marinette exclaimed. She touched the stones, so smooth so precious. How could they accept such a gift? It was probably so expensive.

"She's right," Adrien said but even his eyes lingered on the stones before meeting the man who was showing them this. Startled, he stepped back as he realised who he was.

It was the man that had given him the Miraculous.

Could these stones be…similar?

The man jerked his head slightly. It was a slight motion, but enough for Adrien to realise that they weren't magical. Just jewellery. That was probably very expensive.

He couldn't ask more, because Marinette didn't know this man. He couldn't give away his identity. Although he wanted to, he couldn't. He can't.

Marinette was going through a similar internal conversation with herself.

She recognised the man but couldn't show her surprise because Adrien didn't know about this business. And by touching the stones, she couldn't sense any power. The kind she had felt with the Miraculous anyway. But they did hold some significance. She just didn't know what it was.

Despite that, how could she take it? The old man had been too generous before. She couldn't accept this generosity again.

"Please take them," the old man repeated. "They have been waiting for a long time for the right persons to claim them and I feel it is you both. They are meant to be worn separately and together."

And before they could protest, he took both of their hands and wrapped them around the box, and left without another word.

"Hang on, wait where did he go?" Adrien looked but the man was lost in the crowds. He looked at Marinette. "Do we keep it then?"

Marinette took a hard look at them. After a while she spoke.

"I think it would be rude not to. And besides, didn't you want them when he showed them to us?"

That was true.

The designer took the necklaces out of the box, the both pieces still attached together. She separated them, and took one, giving the blond the other piece.

"Here I'll put it on you," Adrien offered. He held her necklace and clasped it around her neck. When he had done so, he found his date quite red.

"Oh come on, does my mere touch intoxicate you?" he teased.

"Oh shut it Agreste," Marinette fumed, grabbing his necklace. "Come here, it's not my fault you're tall as a tower."

He bent down as she clasped his necklace into place. "Ok, shorty."

"I swear Agreste, I will not kiss you for a week."

"We'll see."

"I'm warning you!"

They laughed and their eyes found each other. Each held their piece and brought it forward so they were linked once more.

 _They are meant to be worn separately and together._

Right now, together felt right.

* * *

 **Thank you for the lovely reviews, favourites and follows!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey sorry for the long wait, lots of work.**

 **Anyway, here it is!**

* * *

Marinette watched as the woman took the wrapped boxes from her and behind on the stack that had a label above it reading: IMPORTANT.

She was at the post office, and she was sending in her clothes for the third round of the competition today.

The deadline was still a week ahead, but she was not taking risks. Every piece of clothing she had meticulously wrapped and sealed in large boxes, with a small card inside with a photocopy of her design and annotations.

Marinette took this seriously.

This competition could really boost her reputation as a budding designer. She wanted this.

The aim was to win, and finally get a coveted internship with Gabriel Agreste. But it was so much more too.

Marinette's dream was to have her own design company, her own label, her own spin on the industry.

She just had to take it one step at a time.

Thanking the woman at the counter, she walked off, her head in the clouds like always.

* * *

Alya paced. This was the final straw.

She marched right up to the door and put her face against the camera.

"Who is this?" asked a lazy voice.

"I need to see Adrien. Right now."

"I'm sorry, visiting times are 3-5pm only."

Alya narrowed her eyes.

"Do not make me repeat myself. If I don't get in now, I will _break_ in. Let. Me. See. Adrien."

The voice gulped. Alya didn't know this, but Nathalie had hired a lackadaisical boy to train him for 'reception' duty. But Nathalie hadn't warned him about Adrien's crazy friends. He started sweating.

"Ok, I'll open the gates," the voice quivered. Alya smirked.

Soon, the big, bold gates opened.

She marched in.

This part of the house confused her. The twin staircases that seemed like a maze. But this journalist was fuelled with passion that was not going to get her confused today.

Following her gut, she took the left staircase.

Wandering around in the blank, empty house she finally glimpsed a room that had slightly a little bit more colour than the rest.

Bingo.

Alya didn't even knock. She stormed right in.

Adrien was surprised to hear his door fly open. Usually Nathalie or the Gorilla knocked. Had they forgotten this basic pleasantry?

He turned around from his desk, where a book on astronomy lay open. He had been looking into that for his recent assignment.

A familiar figure stood at the door.

"Oh hey Alya!" Adrien exclaimed brightly. "What are you doing here?"

Alya stared menacingly, her arms folded.

A confused "uh" escaped his lips. Had he done something wrong?

"Adrien Agreste." She said, monotonous.

He fought the urge to say ' _That's me!'_

Instead, he chose a tentative "yes?"

The auburn, bronze-haired girl walked up to him deliberately.

Adrien could register his brain say 'uh-oh'.

"WHY HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING MARINETTE AWAY FROM ME?"

The gold haired boy probably jumped a few feet in the chair he was sitting in.

"Yeesh! Could you have been any louder?" he exclaimed.

"I'm serious Agreste! I have not been able to hang out with my _best friend_ because of you! Heck, for years she couldn't even _speak_ around you and now that you've opened your eyes and have whisked her off her feet, you have TAKEN HER AWAY FROM ME!"

"Woah whoa slow down," Adrien said, his hands in front of him in a placating gesture. "Mari had a crush on me?"

Alya rolled her eyes and mock clapped. "Well done, genius! About time! And don't call her _Mari_ around me! You guys have only dated for a week!"

That was true. But they felt so right, it had felt like they had been together for lifetimes.

"Okay I'm sorry!" Adrien conceded. "What do you want me to do about it!"

Alya still had her narrowed eyes but after the apology, the fire in her eyes had dimmed slightly. "Well for starters, if you're going to take her on dates, you need to make sure she can still have her girl time."

Girl time?

Alya groaned at the doofus, who had such a blank face. "Besides, you have friends too. Nino needs to hang out with you too! Stop depriving that boy!"

"But I'm pretty sure Nino likes hanging out with his girlfriend too…"

"BESIDES, you haven't even double dated with us yet!" Alya whined. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked her voice sorrowful.

"So that was what it was all about?"

"Yes dummy! We're all friends, all four of us. You two can't just leave us in the dirt just because you finally had the sense to ask Marinette out!"

"Actually she's the one who made the first move-"

"-and we're such a good team, all of us!" Alya interjected passionately. She resumed her menancing pose. "So you'd better plan something good for the four of us this weekend. We ALL need it."

It was at that point Adrien realised he was scared of this woman.

"Um ok," he finally said, which was the first full sentence he had said without her interrupting him.

Suddenly something inside clicked. A theory as to why Alya was behaving strangely.

"On an unrelated note," he said, hoping it was not too obvious, "how _is_ Nino by the way?"

The fire in Alya's eyes reignited.

"Don't even get me STARTED on that dumb head!"

Adrien, also realised at this point, he had made a mistake.

He was having too many realisations today. He had to stop.

He had unintentionally caused Alya to start ranting, about how Nino wasn't taking her on dates like Adrien and Marinette were, and how he had been cooped up in his room all day. He didn't even text her at least 10 times a day and if he did, he would barely say more than one or two phrases. And as a result, Alya had been mad and wanted to punish him by spending time with Marinette instead and leaving the insufferable Nino to Adrien.

Her words, not Adrien's.

Adrien figured she deserved to let all of this off her chest. So he patiently waited. He also realised that she wanted a double date because it had been so long since she had been on one.

That and she was mad that he and Marinette were isolating away from them too.

"Alright Alya," he said, once she had stopped her rant and pacing. "How about I plan something for all four of us, so we can all hang out like we used to?"

Alya didn't consider for long.

"Yes that's perfect! Thanks Adrien, you're the best!"

And with that, she hugged him and left skipping out of his room.

Plagg escaped from Adrien's jacket pocket and Adrien looked to him.

"Plagg, I'm not sure what happened."

"Women," Plagg sighed.

* * *

"Men," Tikki sighed.

Marinette chuckled. "What's up, Tikki?"

Tikki brought her beholder's phone to her face. "Have you seen the group chat?"

Marinette raised her eyebrows. Tikki didn't know what a group chat was until recently. It took a lengthy four hours to explain how it worked. Turns out being a kwami and existing since the age of time meant that it was difficult to keep up with new developments every century or so.

"No," she said tentatively, "why?"

"Nino's being dense."

"What's new?"

"More than usual that is. Alya's being passive-aggressive because he hasn't been spending time with her but he isn't picking up on it."

That was strange. Marinette picked up the phone and scrolled through.

"Huh, I wouldn't call that passive-aggressive. She's full on going for it, and either Nino doesn't get it or is feigning ignorance."

Tikki scrunched her eyes in concentration. "I wonder why Nino's not giving Alya as much attention these days," she pondered.

Marinette shrugged and sat back down on her chair, as she began sketching out her next mood-board for her homework. "Maybe he's busy?"

"Doing what?"

"I dunno, being a DJ, doing music tech stuff."

"Genius, Marinette," Tikki said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Well I don't know, do I?"

"Well you're not giving Alya much attention either Marinette," Tikki said, flying to her and facing the bluebell-haired girl. "Alya's not said anything to you but maybe you should go out with her sometime. You don't know what she's going through," the kwami said wisely.

Marinette pondered through that. It was true that recently, they hadn't talked much apart from their regular morning calls. It wasn't fair for Marinette to leave her best friend just because she was spending time with her boyfriend.

"You're right," the designer declared, finally. "I'm going out with her tonight, no questions. I'll drag her out of the house if I have to."

Tikki smiled. "Good plan," she laughed, a sound similar to a peal of bells.

"But I'm gonna need your help Tikki. The cafés all close soon and we have no time to waste. Spots on!"

With that, she bounded out the window, her yo-yo easily getting her through the city, much faster than a car or bus. But she stopped abruptly.

Her lighting sharp gaze spotted the journalist not too far from the Agreste house. What the heck had she been doing around there?

Ladybug landed at a near empty street, and detransformed. Casually, she walked out and pretended to bump into her best friend.

"Oh hey Alya!" Marinette said brightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Marinette?" Alya looked around, confused. "Where did you come from?!"

"Uh, you know, taking a stroll. Walking keeps you healthy!" Marinette rambled. She quickly changed the subject as Alya narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "So, got any plans, like, um, now?"

"Uh…I don't think so…"

"Perfect! Let's go get some coffee!"

"Whoa whoa slow yourself down little lady," Alya said firmly. "You can't just show up and offer me to go for some coffee!"

Marinette looked at her, confused. "Why not?"

"Because, because…I have to see Nino to help him with his homework!" Alya blurted.

This time, the blue-haired girl narrowed her eyes.

"Alya, you know I know you better than anyone. So I can tell when you're lying. And also, don't pretend as if you're going to see Nino because you're clearly mad at him. I'm surprised he hasn't figured it out yet."

Alya huffed. "Don't even get me started, girl! Guys are just so oblivious, just like your man, back there!"

"Well I know _that_ , but still, care to tell me more?"

And like that, the two friends started talking like in the old days, but this time the girls had guys to complain about. They walked and talked, with Alya explaining the Nino situation and how she went to see Adrien and ranted to him for a good half hour or so.

Unsurprisingly, they ended up at a café without their conversation taking a break.

"So wait, you THREATENED Adrien because I wasn't giving you any time? Alya you're too funny!" Marinette chortled, almost spilling coffee everywhere.

"Don't laugh! It's your fault too!"

"I know, but I can just imagine his face when you started going off on him like that! He must have been so shocked at what he unleashed!"

Alya couldn't help but join in with the laughter. She had to admit, it was pretty silly on her side.

"Yeah, well, remember when you third-wheeled on mine and Nino's date because you felt left out?"

"Oh yeah! And I basically took you away from him because I wasn't getting attention!"

"That, and you smashed ice-cream onto his shirt _accidentally on purpose_ so you could run away with me, leaving him behind at the park confused!"

"His expression was priceless!"

They laughed until they were wheezing and people were starting to stare at the crazed young adults.

"Oh my goodness, I can't breathe," Marinette yelped eventually.

"I've missed this."

Marinette looked surprised at those words.

"It's just, it was always us two, before we became a four. I've missed chatting about boys, life and laughing with you," Alya said sheepishly, looking away.

Marinette's gaze softened. "Hey," she said gently, "I'll always be your best friend, Alya. We can be like this anytime."

Alya smiled gratefully. "Thanks girl."

"Now come on, last one to the counter has to pay!"

"Hey no fair, you got a head start!"

"You should know me by now!"

Giggling, the girls raced each other.

Just like old times.


	13. Chapter 13

"They're so cute," Sabine sighed.

Sabine and Tom were gazing adoringly at Marinette and Adrien who were helping out at the bakery by washing the dishes. Today was a special offer day that had been advertised for a few weeks, so naturally, a lot more orders were to be expected. And a lot more food to be consumed, too.

Marinette was going to Adrien's house to catch-up but instead Adrien had offered to come around instead. Sabine thought it was so thoughtful of him to remember that today was going to be a busy day for the bakery. Even Marinette had been surprised he had remembered.

"Dang it, he's too good," she had muttered. "I've got to think of something better next time."

Sabine smiled fondly as Marinette dropped soap all over the clean plate Adrien had washed. In revenge, Adrien dropped soap on Marinette's arm instead. This had ensued in a short-lived soap fight.

"We were a lot cuter than them," Tom said jokingly.

Sabine chuckled. "If I had never made the first move, you wouldn't be my husband today," she reminded him.

"Well, you always did make me realise what was important."

Smiling they returned back to serving new customers that had walked through the door.

"So, I was thinking," Adrien began.

Marinette looked at him, as if to say _I'm not sure where you're going with this, but I can already sense trouble._

"How about we go on a double date with Nino and Alya this weekend to a fancy restaurant?"

Marinette mused over that as she scrubbed the plate in her hand. "You know, that's a half decent idea," she said finally.

Adrien snorted. "Half-decent?"

"Well, a walk along the River Seine first would be nice."

"Sorry your _Majesty_."

Marinette pretended to think before scrubbing with a happy expression on her face. "Hm, I like that! You can say that from now on," she decided. "But anyway, why this sudden plan?"

Adrien dried the dish with the towel and placed it gently on the side with the pile of other clean dishes. "Well I don't know if you heard but I was threatened by Alya-"

"-I heard," she smirked.

"-but I think it might be a good way for all of us to hang out. You know, after we officially started 'dating'", Adrien said, accompanying the word 'dating' with finger speech marks.

"What's with the finger waving, Agreste?"

"You know what I mean. But what do you think?"

Marinette loved the fact that Adrien treated her with such respect. He always asked for her opinion or permission before doing anything, and that was enough to make her smile.

"I think that sounds great," she said, and planted a kiss on his cheek before moving away from the sink and going to move the newly made goodies to the main display counter. But before she could go, Adrien's hand caught hers and pulled her close to him, her back facing him. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You can't expect to leave me after you do something outrageous like that," he whispered in her ear.

Marinette's breath caught and her cheeks started to flame. "Adrien, my parents are here and people are watching," she breathed.

"Let them watch."

"You know you won't win that easily, Agreste," she said, making a quick jab against his rib and twisting her wrist so his grip was loosened. Surprised, she felt him let go. She turned to face him.

"Haven't you figured that out by now?" she said, with a playful smile and twirled away.

Adrien stood there, dazed at what just happened. Slowly, he let out a small laugh to himself.

How was she that incredible?

* * *

Another piece of crumpled paper hit the floor. It was just one of the many that littered the ground.

Nino sighed. It wasn't going right. This had to be _perfect_.

He knew that Alya was getting fed up of him, because he had been isolating himself from her for quite a few weeks now. And with Adrien and Marinette dating, it probably didn't help because she had no one to be with.

He just hoped, prayed, _begged_ she wouldn't leave him for someone else.

'Just for a few more days. Just bear with me,' he thought to himself.

Please.

He loved her too much to lose her.

With a new sense of determination, Nino put his headphones back on his head and grabbed another piece of paper.


	14. Chapter 14

The weekend came so fast. The students had immersed themselves in their college work, deciding that it would be better to focus for the week this way, so enjoying the weekend wouldn't feel so guilty afterwards.

Consequently, it had meant they couldn't see each other that much, which did create a feeling of longing.

But that meant the overflowing feeling of warmth, comfort and joy to see each other again made up for it.

Alya had come to get ready at Marinette's house. They were going through different dresses and which jewellery would go with which outfit.

"Ugh, no, that necklace is too gaudy Alya! It won't work. Here try this," Marinette said, passing a smaller necklace that was long and thin.

"Are you sure? It's a bit simple," Alya commented looking in the full length mirror.

"Who's the fashion expert here?"

"Fine, fine, but seriously, you have no sense when it comes to you! Why are you wearing yellow?" Alya screeched.

"What?" Marinette protested indignantly. "Yellow is bright and beautiful!

"Yes but we all know that red is your colour."

Marinette blushed. "I've already worn a red dress in front of Adrien," she said shyly.

"I don't care! You have more red dresses, and you are wearing one tonight." With that, Alya pulled out the dress she had decided on for Marinette.

It was off-the shoulder, and lace up to the midriff, including the arms which went only to the elbow. The skirt flowed, like a skater skirt, just above the knees.

The blunette looked at her best friend's choice.

Finally she responded.

"I've taught you well, Alya," Mari approved.

Alya rolled her eyes. "I've been helping you to sort your life out since we were kids. I don't intend on stopping now."

Marinette laughed. "Ok, I think we're sorted, right?"

Alya checked she had her purse, and gave her a nod.

"Alright then, let's go-"

"Wait."

Surprised, Marinette turned around. Alya was looking down at the floor, not meeting her eyes.

"Alya?" she asked, gently.

"Mari, I'm, I'm scared," Alya said, quivering. The brown-eyed beauty sat down on the chaise. "I feel like Nino doesn't want to be with me anymore. What if he leaves me today?"

"What? Why on earth would you think that?"

Alya sighed. "Not a word, Marinette. Not a single word has he said to me face to face. For a good two weeks now. And if he does communicate with me, it's through this damn phone!" She said angrily, grabbing her phone out of her purse and threw it.

But Marinette caught it agilely. Which was rare, but her Ladybug instincts had kicked in.

"Now listen to me, Alya Césaire," she said firmly. "Nino _loves_ you. You may not see it, but _I do_. I don't know what's going on but whatever is happening between you two, I know you both will make it through. You have to."

Marinette knelt down next to Alya and held her hands. "I have never seen two people fit so well together in my life," she said softly. "You guys are meant to be."

Alya sniffled. "Thanks Marinette. But I know two people made for each other too. You and Adrien."

"Um," Marinette stuttered nervously, "we're still in the early stages."

"I know, but you guys haven't seen each other with each other. It's like you guys are attached by an electric field, attracted. And it feels like you guys have been together for centuries, not just a few weeks."

It was true. She didn't know if Adrien felt the same, but strangely, it felt like a missing piece until they had started being together. And there was a familiarity about him she just couldn't place…

"Anyway, we should get going. We'll be late otherwise. But thank you Marinette," Alya smiled, squeezing her hand. "I'll keep fighting to keep Nino and I together, for as long as I can."

"Any time Alya," Marinette smiled. "And just remember: give him a chance."

* * *

A chance. That was it. That was all he needed.

For some reason, he just couldn't find the right moment. The right opportunity.

But it had finally come.

Today. Or, rather tonight.

She probably didn't remember. But today was perfect. It was _the_ day. The day they fell for each other.

He grabbed the small SD chip, inserted it into the headphones. And he grabbed the small wrapped box and placed it carefully into his bag.

It was the perfect time.

The only chance.

He left without a second glance.


	15. Chapter 15

**Just wanted to say thank you, for following, favouriting and reviewing this story. It makes me really, genuinely happy for others to love this story the way I love writing it.**

* * *

"Dude, are you ok?"

Nino woke from his reverie. "Huh? Did you, uh, say something?"

Adrien looked at his friend with concern.

His eyes were weary. His face was slimmer, as if he hadn't eaten as much lately. Most of all, Nino was _quiet_. Nino was never quiet.

"Hey man, I'm your best friend. You know you can tell me everything, right?"

Nino kept staring at the floor.

After some time he spoke. "Do you think she hates me?" he said, a broken edge to his tone.

Now Adrien admitted he was not the sharpest kit in the toolbox. At least not when it came to emotions and other human interactions. But this time, he knew exactly what Nino meant.

"Nino." Adrien's voice was so gentle Nino looked up in surprise. His eyes were not mocking, or even teasing.

Well, maybe a little.

"She is seriously into you. You need to understand that. And true, she's been a bit mad perhaps but she will NOT give you up. I know first-hand how scary that woman is but her heart is in the right place. She won't stay mad at you forever."

Nino smiled. A little weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Yeah, she is pretty scary isn't she? But that's one of the many things I love about her."

Adrien grinned. But a look of questioning passed across his face. "The thing is Nino, why have you been so silent? Alya's mad because of that you know. What's been going on?"

Nino heaved. "It's been a project I've been working on. Its been taxing, with college and stuff but-"

"Hey guys!"

Marinette and Alya waved at the boys. They looked incredible, Adrien thought, and he smiled warmly at them.

"We should go," he said.

Nino sighed, but let a small smile out. "We should. After you, bro."

Marinette bounded over to them, giving a hug to Nino who was practically a brother, and stepped aside to hold Adrien's hand, squeezing it gently as she smiled up at him.

Alya hesitantly walked over.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey Alya," Nino said, with a smile. He looked at her dress. "Wow, you look _incredible_."

"Thanks. Not so shabby yourself, Lahiffe."

"Shall we go to the table, then?" Marinette asked.

Alya smiled warmly at her best friend. "Of course. We don't want to just stand here all day do we? And Adrien, I'm glad you kept your promise," she said, waving her finger menacingly.

Adrien laughed. "I was threatened and my life was at stake. I _had_ to keep my promise."

That brought out a laugh in everyone. They walked to the table that was reserved for them, a small cosy spot close to a fireplace in the old, yet luxurious restaurant that had a hearty, pleasant ambience to it.

Marinette and Adrien sat next to each other, as did Alya and Nino. Marinette was directly opposite Alya. She glanced at her friend worryingly.

The tension was palpable. The journalist and the DJ were close to each other but they were not touching. They laughed and joked, all four of them, but there was tension. The feeling was different to when they had hung out before.

Alya knew how painful it was for him, because she was feeling the same pain. To be in such close proximity but not to actually _be_ so close was hard. But what could she do?

He hadn't spoken to her in weeks. She wondered if she was doing something wrong, if she came on too strong- she just didn't know. True, she was new to this dating thing but together it felt so _right_. Could it be that he didn't feel the same way?

Marinette looked at Adrien. The way they could read each other's expressions at this moment in time was incredible but they both knew it was painful for their best friends to be this way. They both wanted their friends to work this out.

The four dined in silence, the fire crackling heartily and spreading warmth all around. But even that couldn't break this ice.

They finished. This was it.

"Alya?" Nino called. "Could we, um, talk?"

Alya turned, a tortured expression in her eyes. She looked to Marinette for support.

The bluenette came over and squeezed her shoulder gently. She nodded.

Alya took a deep breath. "Sure. Of course."

Nino and Alya walked outside of the restaurant while the blond and the blue exchanged worried looks.

He could do this.

He turned around to face her.

God, she was beautiful. Her brown-red hair had grown past her shoulders. She had curled the ends gently. The dress hugged her figure but Nino could only look at her face. Her strong, beautiful face.

"Alya, there's something I have to say to you. It's the reason why I haven't said anything in weeks and why I haven't even had time to see you-"

"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?"

Nino stepped back in shock. "What?"

Alya clenched her fists. "That's why, right? You were preparing me for this. To break up with me."

Now there were many possible options for Nino to take here.

One. Deny it completely and fervently.

Two. Shut her up with a kiss so she would realise that what she said was utter rubbish.

Three. Apologise profusely.

But this was Nino. He never played by the rules.

So he took option four.

He laughed.

He laughed so hard he had to clutch his stomach because he was laughing _that_ hard.

Now it was Alya's turn to be shocked.

"The hell Nino? Why are you laughing? Is this a joke to you? Is our relationship just a joke?!" she yelled, the last sentence bringing tears to her eyes.

Nino stopped and simply smiled at her gently.

"No silly!" He chuckled, holding her hand. "I'm laughing because _you're_ meant to be the smart one in this relationship. And what you just said was really dumb."

"Oh," Alya said, looking down.

Nino gently lifted her face so she would look at him.

"I am sorry Alya. I shouldn't have left you alone like that. It was unfair. But maybe you'll forgive me if I show you this."

Nino grabbed his bag, and brought out some headphones.

Alya was about to protest but he silenced her. "Just listen, ok?"

He put them on her.

The music filled her ears. There was a gentle sound of waterfalls in the background, and an unbelievable melody that was weaved through the sound of it, as if the water was playing the tune itself. She closed her eyes and tears started to fall.

She didn't even realise that he had picked the headphones off of her head.

"What was that?" she choked out.

Nino looked at her shyly. "That's the song I wrote for you Alya. The melody, the sounds- it's all representing how I feel about you. You're like my summer breeze, warm but strong. Do you like it?"

Alya sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

Nino's face fell. "Oh, I'm-"

"Of course I love it you dolt! That was so beautiful! _This_ is what you were doing? And," she wiped her tears angrily, and punched him in the chest, "you couldn't even TELL ME?"

"OW!" Nino exclaimed, rubbing his chest.

"You are impossible Nino Lahiffe! Just wait till I tell your mother! All this time, no calls, nothing not even SPEAKING to me just so you could be DRAMATIC like this?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it!"

"Ok ok!" Nino held up his hands in surrender. "Well, I promise I won't do this ever again. Who knew you hate surprises?"

"Nino, I'm warning you-"

"Ok then maybe this will do the job."

He grabbed his bag and gently picked out a small wrapped object, handling it very carefully. He gave it to Alya.

She looked at him, confused, but he just indicated that she should open it.

Slowly, she unwrapped it. What she saw almost made her jump and drop it, which would have been a bad move because it was utterly, utterly stunning.

In her hands was a sculpture. And not just any sculpture.

It was the two of them, embracing. The detail was so fine and intricate she couldn't believe her eyes.

"You, you _made_ this?"

Nino grinned. "Took some classes on ceramics. Took ages, but I think it's worth the trouble. Now do I have to say sorry again or does this count as a good enough apolo-"

He couldn't finish because she stopped him with a kiss.

"Ok, I guess that did the trick," he said when they broke apart. Alya rolled her eyes but they were shining.

"Thank you so much Nino, this, this means so much to me," she said, her eyes glistening.

"Happy Anniversary, Alya," he said, smiling.

"Wait, this was for…our anniversary? You, you didn't forget?" she whispered.

"Never, Alya. I would never."

They hugged under the starlight, the moon illuminating their embrace as the stars rejoiced in the midnight sky.


	16. Chapter 16

**I feel like I had to update and post this chapter quickly, because the first part is related to the previous chapter and it makes more sense this way!**

 **Thanks for reading**

* * *

Marinette could barely hold herself together. She almost kept on squealing. And that would ruin _everything_.

She was crouched behind the bushes, with Adrien, watching those two being so darn cute.

After Nino and Alya left, Marinette was determined to follow them.

"We have to!" she had said to Adrien. "What if he does break up? Or if she breaks up with him? She'll need me! They need us!"

"Ok, fine," Adrien had relented. "But you got mad when Alya was spying on you. So can't we apply that in this case-"

"Pfft, no, this is different!" And with that she had left.

"Sure, _different"_ Adrien had mocked. She had turned back and glared, saying "I heard that."

When he brought out that sculpture Marinette had almost cried of joy. That boy! He was such a romantic! She had almost squealed, her inner fangirl coming out but she controlled herself, _barely_.

Adrien too was pretty impressed at Nino. Who knew the guy was this smooth? Damn. Adrien would have to try a lot harder if he was going to show up Nino.

Not that he was trying to prove anything to anyone, of course.

Come to think of it, he hadn't gotten Marinette anything. Hmm, that wasn't looking good. What could her get her? She was perfect, and one of a kind. What could he give that would reflect that?

Marinette, an actual angel, turned and winked at him.

"Don't worry, Adrien. You don't need to do anything like this for me. You've already given me you, which means more than any gift, ever," she whispered.

How could she do that?

Adrien sighed with a smile and kissed the top of her head. "Let's not spy here any longer, and leave the love-birds alone," he said, pointing at the two with his head.

He held out a hand. "Shall we?"

She took it, and they attempted to leave as discreetly as possible.

Well as discreet as you could for two young adults hiding behind two large overgrown plant pots.

"Marinette? Dear, you have a voicemail!" Sabine called.

"Huh?" Marinette turned around, before she could go upstairs, and went over to her mother. "For me? That's a bit strange."

She grabbed the phone and went to voicemail.

' _Marinette Dupain-Cheng,'_ a voice said formally, ' _we are pleased to announce that you have passed the third round of the design competition.'_

At this the blue-eyed girl could barely hold herself together but she composed herself so she could hear the rest.

' _Our panel of judges have been very impressed at your designs, and have scrutinised the craftsmanship of the clothes themselves. We believe you are worthy to be sent to the final round._

 _The fourth round is a secret round and the details will only be announced when you arrive at the event. Please do not bring anything, everything will be provided at the event there._

 _The winner will be announced after considering the results of the fourth round, and that designer's fashion line that has been assessed in this competition will be showcased at our fashion show and given the opportunity to have an internship with a designer of their choice._

 _Please check your email for details of the venue. We hope to see you there. Good luck.'_

There was a buzz, indicating that the message had finished.

"EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

"Oh dear lord, what on earth was that?" Sabine cried, almost dropping a three-layer cake. If Tom hadn't come in at the last minute and held the bottom of the base, the cake would not have been saved.

But Marinette was oblivious to that.

"I made it to the fourth round! Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD! WOOOOOO!" She pumped her fist into the air and did a twirl, doing a small dance.

She then realised that all eyes were on her.

"Oh, um, ha ha," she laughed weakly, blushing furiously. "Well, I, uh, better get going you know, got do, um, stuff," she stuttered and ran upstairs, tripping on the first step.

Her parents just sighed. This was quite typical in the household. Marinette tripping, not sudden exclamations of getting through to a further stage in the competition, mind you.

"What will we ever do with her?" Sabine murmured lovingly.

Tom just chuckled. "We'll have to make sure we celebrate this achievement for her. After all, getting this far couldn't have been easy, what with people over the country competing."

"You're right, dear."

Tom furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully. "You know, that boyfriend of hers could be useful here," he pondered with a grin.

Sabine put the cake down on the shelf. She brushed off the flour that was stuck on the front of her apron. "Well Adrien is such a sweetie, I'm sure he would love to get involved. But what exactly are you planning?" she asked.

The baker grinned, putting his hands on his hips.

"We're going to make the best cake Marinette's ever seen!"

Adrien was more than happy to help, of course. He said he'd be there as soon as he could, and asked the Gorilla to drop him off.

At some point, he would need to introduce Marinette to his father. He hadn't even told him that he was dating, but his father had never inquired anyway. He probably didn't care. Regardless, it was better for his father to know via Adrien, rather than by the tabloids anyway.

When he got to the bakery, Marinette's parents hugged him. He felt so at home here, and he loved the atmosphere and vibrancy of this small yet striking bakery. And the way that Tom and Sabine held him, almost like a son… well that was more than what he could ever ask for.

Adrien was assured Marinette would not know he was here, as she had left to go to college to complete an assignment. Since Marinette hadn't even texted him regarding this news, the blond guessed she was pretty busy.

"Where should I begin, Sir?" Adrien asked politely.

Tom laughed. "Call me Tom, Adrien, no formalities needed," he insisted, "and you can start by helping Sabine with the mixture there."

And so he set off to work.

By the time it was finished, he was covered in icing, his hair was caked with flour and there was some cream stuck on his eyebrow.

But he reckoned it really _was_ the best cake he had ever seen. And that wasn't just because he had helped make it. Although, he was slightly biased. Just a bit.

She was going to love it.


	17. Chapter 17

"OH MY GOODNESS!"

Marinette dropped the bag in her hand and gaped like a fish.

She had gone back to college to hand in her last assignment. Thank goodness it wasn't a difficult one- it had just taken her a few hours to complete. Some of the tasks her teachers set could take _weeks_.

But that wasn't the only reason she had gone back.

The fourth round was the mystery round. She couldn't take anything with her, which was a pretty big disadvantage. Her sketchbook always had some designs, some new inspirations from anywhere like a stroll in the park to the big, bustling city.

So she had come to college for inspiration. Seeing other people's work was always incredibly humbling, and even mood sketches were so exciting to see.

What she didn't expect when she came back was a 3 layered cake in front of her and her parents and Adrien yelling 'SURPRISE!' at the top of their lungs.

She had promptly dropped everything in her hands. Which, thank goodness, was just a bag.

The cake was magnificent.

It was a girl, and the each layer of the cake formed part of a layer of her dress. The dress was a beautiful light turquoise, and white frills escaped each layer of the gown. Tiny little jewels had been added across the bodice, little rubies that glinted. And someone had rubbed iridescent powder all over the piece so it sparkled. And on the bottom layer, very carefully handwritten in gold icing was 'congratulations'.

Marinette realised she had been gaping too long. She shut her mouth slowly and looked at the trio.

"Do you like it?" Sabine asked earnestly.

"Are you kidding? I LOVE IT!" Marinette yelped joyfully and went over to her parents and hugged them.

"Adrien did you help too?" Marinette asked.

Adrien nodded sheepishly. "Your parents did most of the work, though," he said modestly.

Tom interjected. "It was Adrien's idea to put the jems and the powder over the cake."

Marinette's eyes shimmered with tears of happiness. She ran to Adrien and hugged him fiercely, nestling her head into his shoulder.

"Thank you" she breathed.

Adrien, who was a little shocked by the gesture, smiled and held her tight.

At some point, both of them realised that they weren't alone.

They both jumped and shot away from each other, Adrien scratching his neck nervously and Marinette blushing furiously. Tom guffawed while Sabine chuckled, one hand on covering her mouth.

"Well it'll be a shame to ruin it but it'll be an even bigger shame if you don't eat it. What do you say?" Tom said good-naturedly.

"You bet! Let's eat it!" Marinette exclaimed, which brought another set of laughter to the household.

* * *

"So Marinette, what do you think about meeting my father tomorrow?" Adrien asked casually. The couple were walking along the River Seine just before the sunset.

She stopped. Adrien stopped too, turning back to look at her.

"You mean meeting Gabriel Agreste?" she said quietly.

Adrien took her hands. "It'll be fine, I promise. I looked at his schedule and he's free in the afternoon. It'll just be a casual meeting."

The designer dropped her head.

Of course, it had been a dream of hers to meet Gabriel. But she hadn't really expected it to be this way. And she didn't want him to think that she was with Adrien to take advantage of his background…

Adrien guessed what she was thinking. He put her hand under her chin and lifted it so she would look at him.

"Hey," he said softly, "I know you're worried. But he won't think like that at all. Besides you two have common ground: you're designers! That'll be something to talk about. Or you could avoid it completely, if you'd like," he offered.

Marinette smiled. He was trying so hard.

"Alright," she conceded. "I'll meet your father tomorrow."

A big smile erupted on Adrien's face. "Awesome! I know he's going to love you, just the way I do."

The model then realised what he said.

Blushing bright red, he scratched his neck, trying to hide in embarrassment.

A tinkling sound made him turn around.

She was laughing.

He grinned. "Are you making fun of me?" he challenged.

"Of course I am. Get used to it."

"Oh yeah? You're going to regret that!"

He ran to her and spun her around.

"Adrien Agreste, put me down right now!"

"Or what?"

"Or I will punch you in the gut, so help me-"

"You can't threaten me I have the advantage here!"

"I swear Adrien!"

And he did put her down, only to be left being chased by the blue-eyed girl, both of them laughing in the flaming sunset.

* * *

 **I just wanted to thank the people who have written positive, encouraging reviews. Reading these makes me very happy. And all of the favourites and follows makes me really happy too. Thank you.**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	18. Chapter 18

Gabriel watched his son come up to him meekly.

Contrary to what Adrien thought, Gabriel knew _exactly_ what his son had been up to.

He knew that Adrien spent almost all of his free time at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, or with the Dupain-Cheng girl. He knew that they had been involved a long time.

What Gabriel didn't know, was her.

He usually could tell a person's personality, their character after setting his eyes upon them. Of course, sensing feelings wasn't hard for him, whether transformed or not, so he could tell if a person was good, bad, had mood changes, was shy etcetera etcetera.

But not with her.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was different.

Gabriel could not really understand her. He did not understand her feelings, her motives or her demeanour at all. Not at a glance, he couldn't.

But he had nothing against her. Not yet, anyway.

Gabriel was afraid Adrien was able to love someone. He kept a distance from his son, to protect him. He didn't want Adrien to break down the way he had.

If this girl ever broke Adrien…

Gabriel decided he needed to know her better. Acting rashly never worked.

And what a perfect opportunity this was.

"Sit, Adrien" Gabriel said, and his son sat down in front of him.

* * *

"So he says he can meet you tomorrow, just as I suspected," Adrien said over the phone.

"Right," said a muffled voice. Adrien knew her well enough to realise she probably had a piece of fabric in her mouth because her hands were full, and she would need to pin it somewhere. Or maybe some measuring tape so her newest creations would have the correct lengths.

He gave out a small chuckle. "What are you making?"

"A skirt. But I can't. Seem. To. Do. It." She said with frustration.

"You can do anything."

"You're too cheesy. But thanks. No matter how much I try to correct the length, it just gets uneven every time! So, what were you saying again?"

Adrien cast his thoughts back to his meeting with his father.

He had taken it well. That is, if one counted a monotonous expression as taking the news well. His father had been quite agreeable to seeing Marinette. Or Miss Dupain-Cheng, as he called her. His father never spoke informally to someone he was not completely familiar with.

"Yeah, so I'll pick you up and we'll go see him then!" Adrien finalised. "It'll be just cake and tea, just some light snacks. Nothing to be afraid of."

"Of course, nothing to fear. Except messing up in front of your long-time idol." The designer mumbled over her mobile.

He laughed. "How could you possibly mess this up?"

"Um, have you _met_ me? I have like, two left feet. Do you want to hear the ways I can embarrass myself?"

"Well I have nothing better to do for the next fifteen minutes, so go ahead."

There was a pause, and Adrien could almost feel her glare emanating through his phone.

"Ok," she said sharply, "I could fall over and knock over all the food on the table onto your father, and ruin his expensive suit. He would get mad and kick me out."

Adrien could barely hold in his laughter. Seriously, he said "go on."

"I could spill the tea over myself and break the teacup just by putting it down."

"Ah, who needs teacups anyway? Much too ostentatious if you ask me. Glasses are just fine."

"I love teacups!" she protested. "Anyway, this one is extremely likely: I trip over my words and look like a blundering fool who can't even speak let alone get out a sentence and he'll wonder why you ever brought me to meet him."

The model couldn't take it anymore. He chortled so loudly, he swore his table was shaking.

"You. Are. Insane," he finally said, in between laughs. "Beautiful and talented, but insane."

He could have sworn she was blushing. "Well, it could happen you know," she said in a cute, angry way.

Adrien checked his watch. Seven more minutes till his next photo shoot. "Well, I think you will be just fine," he reassured her. "Just don't worry and have fun. I'll be there to help you."

"That's what I'm most worried about."

He laughed. "I have to go but I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok," she agreed, "oh wait! What should I wear?"

"Seriously?"

"Just tell me."

Adrien thought about it. Marinette looked wonderful in whatever she wore, but she really shined when it was one of her own designs. She would be confident and take pride in her handiwork.

"Wear something you've put your heart into," he said as he disconnected.

* * *

She raced across the sky. It was an amber colour today, as the sun had just set. It would soon darken as if ink had been spilt across it.

She found a quiet spot and landed, and tried to catch her breath.

It had been a long time since she had transformed. There hadn't been a need. Hawkmoth seemed to have quietened down. Attacks happened rarely, maybe once a month, as if to let Paris know that he was still haunting them, as a ghostly presence rather than a constant phantom trying to scare everyone every minute.

Ladybug wasn't as strong as she was before. She had aged, only a bit, but she tired more than when she was younger, and as the attacks had diminished slightly, she got less fit each time as the gaps between running and fighting lengthened.

But she would not give up. As long as she was needed to protect her city, she would be here.

"My lady, it's a surprise to see you here," a voice called.

She didn't even turn around. "Hello, Chat," she said.

A thunk of feet hitting the space beside her indicated he had also sat down.

"Hello," he greeted. "So, what brings you here?"

Ladybug thought about it.

Much had changed. But perhaps change was for the best.

"I felt restless," she admitted, finally looking at him. His green eyes seemed to have gotten brighter since the last time she saw him. It must be the girl he fell in love with. She must be quite incredible, she thought bitterly. And then was surprised by her bitter tone.

Since when did she get…like this? Was it called being jealous? No, of course not. She was content with Adrien. He had confessed to her and her to him. She was being possessive, most probably. She was possessive of her friend.

"I felt restless," she repeated, "and decided to come for a patrol. Just like old times."

"Well we're certainly getting old," he joked.

He never flirted with her now. Thank God. It was awkward before as it was. Now it felt so comfortable. The way it should be hanging out with a friend.

She gave a weak laugh. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting too old for this job," she sighed.

"What?" Chat said, shocked.

"Don't you ever feel as if you're not…strong enough? That the toll it takes is more than before?" she asked wearily.

He took a long time to respond.

"I do feel the strain of it more," he admitted slowly. "Even though I'm in my youth, I don't have the same energy as I did when I was, gosh, sixteen?" He shook his head. "It's crazy how many years have passed, hasn't it?"

Ladybug nodded and stared back into the horizon. She was right. The night was now an inky black.

"But I don't ever want to stop," Chat said. "I want to be there, be _here_ and help people."

Ladybug smiled. "I was just thinking that a moment ago." She thought carefully before speaking again.

"Do you ever, worry," she said slowly, "about the future?"

He turned sharply towards her. "What do you mean?"

She took a deep intake of breath. "About how you would keep all of _this_ ," she spread out her hands, gesturing to the city, "going even with a family?"

She felt him stiffen.

"You mean with a family of my own?" he said quietly.

Ladybug stretched her legs out. "Would you keep your children in the dark and your wife," she said, a strange taste in her mouth as she said the word, "from your secret? What explanation would you give, when all of a sudden you had to leave? What would they think?"

Chat closed his gloved hands into fists and opened them again, repeating the action several times.

"I, I would have to tell them," he shakily said, stuttering. "I would not keep secrets from them."

 _Yet you keep them from me,_ Ladybug thought. Strange, how things changed. She could have sworn that yesterday, just yesterday, she would have refused to tell Chat her identity. And now she wanted to know his! _What a hypocrite I am,_ she thought.

"You would tell them even if that meant they would be put at risk?"

"Stop," Chat pleaded, looking at her with his eyes shaking. "I don't want to imagine any harm to the ones I love."

It felt like a knife had twisted inside her heart. She hated to see him hurt. And that part hadn't changed.

"I'm sorry Chat," she said as sincerely as she could. "I was just thinking the same about me. What would I do? And would that be the right thing to do?"

He reached over to touch her hand. She didn't pull away. It wasn't a romantic touch- more of a friendly one. A reassuring warm touch that she hadn't realised she had needed from a close friend.

"We know that we can't do this forever," he said gravely, but with a small, supportive smile on his face. "And when the time comes, we'll know what the right thing to do is."

Ladybug lifted her face into the night sky once more. It was no longer fully black. Small speckles of stars had decided to shine, dotted around, shining down at her.

Maybe the future didn't have to be dark. Maybe there was light somewhere. And she would choose the star that would shine for as long as possible. Dim at first, but slowly and surely, it would brighten and its brilliance would be preserved for years, centuries and millennia to come. And though one day it would shrink, fade to nothingness, at least that star had lived a full, long life.

"You're right," Ladybug said, smiling at Chat. "We'll know when the time comes."

* * *

 **Not gonna lie, I got a tiny bit emotional writing that last part! I think its an interesting area to explore.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry for the long wait! Hope you like the chapter!**

* * *

"It'll be fine," he whispered, squeezing her hand.

Marinette nodded nervously, smoothing her dress out for the _tenth_ time.

Adrien was pretty good at advice, she had admitted to herself grudgingly after their phone call. So she had selected a dress she had recently made and had poured her heart into.

It was a satin, royal blue dress. It looked simple, but Marinette had added touches that were subtle. Small white frills, very delicate, had been attached to the straps of the dress so it looked like small sleeves. A black belt had been attached to the high waist, and tiny crystal beads had been adorned at the top and bottom of the belt. White lace peeked out at the bottom of the dress, coming just above the knees. She had put her hair up in an elegant up-do and had worn ballerina-style black heels, with ribbons criss-crossed around her ankles.

The designer couldn't help but still worry. Despite her touching conversation with Chat Noir yesterday, she still found herself thinking and worrying about the future, whether it was the immediate future or long-term.

Currently, she was worrying about the immediate future. The _very_ immediate future.

"You look gorgeous," Adrien whispered. She blushed.

A small camera came out of the wall and scanned them.

"It's just us, Nathalie," Adrien said, a tone of weariness in his voice.

The camera shot back and the gates opened. Still holding hands, Adrien led her through to the main doors and they stopped just before the stairs.

Adrien let go of her hand gently, winked at her, and stepped closer to the stairs. "Father?" he called.

As if in a trance, Marinette watched Gabriel glide down the stairs and step down towards them. He looked as polished as ever, and it seemed as if he never aged.

A closer inspection told Marinette that this wasn't exactly true.

His golden blond hair had a few streaks of grey. His eyes, once a shining blue, had dulled to a darker shade of navy. Wrinkles were etched underneath his eye-lids.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng," he said in a sharp, strict tone. "What a pleasure it is to meet you. Adrien has told me all about you."

Something about his words had Marinette on edge. She couldn't exactly place it.

She smiled graciously, determined not to let her emotions be displayed on her face. "This is an incredible honour, Mr Agreste."

He held out one hand, and she shook it. It strangely felt like a truce.

"Shall we go to the dining table, and have some tea?" It wasn't a request.

She nodded courteously.

"Adrien you know the way. Please escort Miss Dupain-Cheng there."

Adrien put one hand on her back gently, and led her through. She could feel the eyes of Gabriel Agreste burning through her back.

They stopped at the huge dining table.

There wasn't enough light for Marinette's liking. The curtains were barely drawn open, letting in just a glimmer of light through. A huge chandelier towered above, but it was daytime so it wasn't turned on. If she lived here…

Woah. One step at a time. She was here to meet the parent first.

Gabriel strode in front of them, and sat at the head of the table. He motioned for them to join him.

Hesitantly, she walked up to him. Adrien walked on the opposite side of the table.

Adrien and Marinette sat opposite each other, next to Gabriel Agreste. Marinette noticed a figure near the fireplace, standing in the dark.

"Nathalie, please bring the tea and cakes," Gabriel ordered.

The figure nodded and elegantly strode off.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I believe you were the student who won the hat competition at Collège Françoise Dupont?"

Gosh, that had been years ago. He had remembered that?

"Yes sir," she replied. She decided not to speak more than necessary.

"And Adrien has been telling me that you are doing very well in the Design Competition that is currently ongoing?"

She blushed as she looked at Adrien who gave her a discreet wink. "I have made it to the fourth round, sir. It is the final round."

"Indeed it is," he said, holding his stare a little too long. "I am in fact, one of the judges. Did you know that?"

Marinette stared at him in shock. She did not try to hide her expression whatsoever.

Gabriel was going to one of the judges. No doubt he thought she was trying to use Adrien to get to him now, if he didn't think it before. No wonder Adrien was going to be one of the models in this show! He was part of the Agreste company. He modelled for his father. Why hadn't she thought of this before?!

She steadied herself. Marinette would show Gabriel that she loved Adrien for being Adrien. She didn't care about his fame, his connections. She cared about _him_.

"I truly did not know that, sir," she said quietly, looking down.

"Very well. I believe you." He said and Marinette looked up again. Gabriel was no longer looking at her, but she detected a glint of humour in his eyes, as if her reaction had reassured him.

"Ah, the food has arrived. Place it here, thank you."

A butler it seemed, (she would tease Adrien about this later- who has a butler?) had arrived and placed a platter filled with small cupcakes and in the middle, a medium sized pot which looked to be a Crème brûlée. The cakes looked awfully familiar…

"Oh! These are from our bakery!" she exclaimed before she could hold herself in.

She mentally cursed at herself for speaking out of line. But she had iced those cakes just yesterday with her parents.

Gabriel looked at her. "Indeed. I thought you would appreciate the gesture."

She smiled gratefully. "That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you."

He nodded, and motioned for the butler to leave. He then looked back at Marinette.

"Please take one, and you too, Adrien."

"Father, won't you have one? The Dupain-Cheng bakery have the best food in all of Paris," Adrien piped.

Marinette looked at him gratefully for the compliment. He smiled back but looked at Gabriel expectantly.

"So I've heard, Adrien. But I will eat later."

Adrien looked dejected. How long had it been since he had eaten together with his father? Marinette wanted to reach out and hold his hand comfortingly, but decided now was not the best time.

Gabriel took a sip of his tea, oblivious to his son's obvious disappointment.

"Adrien," Gabriel finally said. "Will you please go upstairs to see Nathalie? I have a few new portfolios I want to show you and they are quite urgent. It won't take long."

Adrien hesitated, looking from his father to Marinette, as if thinking if he should leave her alone here. She smiled at him. _I'll be fine. Go_.

He sighed in relief, smiled and stood up and left.

Once Adrien had fully left the room, Gabriel turned to her.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, Adrien has spoken highly of you. But I wanted to see you myself. Why are you with my son?"

Marinette was taken aback by his words. "Excuse me?"

Gabriel's eyes narrowed slightly. "I know you want to be a designer," he said, "and I think it is quite _timely_ of you to be with my son when a huge opportunity has come this way."

Marinette knew it was coming. But she never thought his words would sting this way.

"I'm sorry," she said, perhaps a bit sharply. "But I have not decided to be with Adrien because he is the son _of a famous designer_ ," she said witheringly. "I couldn't care less about his background."

"Oh?" he said, raising his eyebrow.

Marinette frowned at him. A part of her knew that she should control her temper but it couldn't be stopped. She didn't _want_ to stop. Something about his smug expression made her mad.

"Yes," she snapped. "I love Adrien because he is a good person! He cares about others, and he is the most sweetest, kindest, honest person I know. And I love him because he is the amazing person he is, when he could have turned out to be cold and harsh." She glared at him, realising full well she had not been subtle at all with the insult.

Marinette knew that she would probably get kicked out of the competition now. Her career was most likely going to break and her dreams would be shattered. But right now, she couldn't care less.

This man, who dared to call himself Adrien's father, had distanced himself from his own son. Granted, they had been through trauma, but Gabriel had left Adrien when Adrien had most needed him. And despite that, Adrien had turned out to be an incredible person.

Gabriel's eyes burned with fire as he stared at her. After a while, the fire in his eyes dimmed and shockingly, a smile came to his lips.

"I could break your career, you do realise that?" he said, tauntingly.

Marinette stared him down. "I realise that. But I will not take back my words. I won't let you hurt Adrien anymore," she vowed.

Now Gabriel's face grew shocked. But in an instant, he composed himself almost tricking Marinette that his expression had never even changed in the first place.

"You would still love him even if I took your career away from you?"

She shut her eyes to prevent her from crying. "It would wound me," she said tightly, determined not to crack. "To be so close to my dreams yet to not be able to have them. But it would hurt me more to stay away from him."

Marinette kept her eyes shut for a while. Once she felt stable, she opened them gently.

Gabriel was studying her. His eyes didn't hold any malice, not anymore. They were distant. They were looking back into the past.

"You remind me of someone," he said softly. Marinette was surprised to hear him sound so vulnerable.

She decided this was the only chance she would get.

"Please," she pleaded, "Adrien needs a father, not a boss. Please just spend some time with him. Please be there for him. He needs you."

Gabriel's jaw hardened as if to retort back at her, but then, strangely he relaxed. "We will speak more soon, Miss Marinette," he promised. She realised with a jolt that it was the first time he had actually said her name.

Marinette wasn't sure what exactly had happened but she nodded.

At that moment, Adrien walked in again.

He smiled brightly, and Marinette smiled back at him, trying to hide her confused feelings.

"What did I miss?" he asked jokingly.

Marinette glanced at Gabriel nervously.

Gabriel didn't look at her but she could see him smile. "Nothing much. We were just talking."

Adrien raised an eyebrow in confusion but shrugged. "Okay."

Although Adrien didn't realise what his father had meant, Marinette did. This conversation would stay a secret. But if the need ever arose, Marinette would tell Adrien. She wouldn't lie or hide to him-no more than she had to.

When they rose from the table and Adrien escorted her back, Marinette hung back to shake Gabriel's hand. No need to ask for permission. She believed they were past formalities now.

Gabriel looked surprised at the gesture, but smiled and shook it graciously. Marinette smiled back. Maybe she had broken a wall today. And she really hoped that she hadn't broken her career.

She sat down in the car and Adrien closed the door.

Though it was hard to see through the tinted windows, she looked at Gabriel who stood there.

And maybe it was a trick of the light, but she saw a glimmer of a tear in his eyes.

* * *

 **Not gonna lie, the last parts of this chapter made me tear up and get emotional a bit as I was writing it!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry for the delay, here's two new chapters to make up for it!**

 **I'm working on a new story, which I'm quite exited about, but it's in progress and I want to focus on my current stories first before I post it.**

 **Anyway, here's the chapter!**

* * *

"I don't know what to do!" Marinette fretted.

Adrien laughed gently. They were back at _their_ place, the place with the pink petals and cherry blossoms and the old willow tree.

He was lying on her lap, as she stroked her hands through his hair. If he was Chat Noir right now, he would have purred.

"Just do what you always do," he suggested. "Amaze them with your new perspective and your talent!"

She fluffed up his hair. "But I don't have anything with me this time!" she wailed. "Not my notebook, nothing! What am I going to do?" she said, bending down and looking into his eyes with her face upside down.

He bopped her nose. She jerked back, surprised, and scowled. Adrien chuckled.

"Um, you have a very crucial thing, you know," he hinted.

"What?"

"Your brain," he said.

"Oh ha ha," she mocked. "But that's about it."

Adrien shrugged and sat up. "I mean, if you really wanted to, I could sneak in your notebook. I'll probably get away with it," he said casually.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Yes great advice Mr I'm-Not-A-Cheater-But-I'll-Help-You-Cheat," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'll get kicked out for sure."

He held up his hands in a placating manner. "Kidding! But you will be fine," he reassured her, holding her hands. "I said that to you before meeting my father, and you _were_ fine, so see?"

Adrien saw Marinette hesitate.

"What is it?" he asked, a bit concerned. "It was fine, wasn't it?"

"Sure, I guess," she said, a little unsure. But then she looked determinedly at him. "Don't worry, we'll find out soon."

He raised an eyebrow at her cryptic words but shrugged. He decided to let it go. No point pushing her if she didn't want to talk about it.

She leaned towards him. Her breath smelled sweet, like a frosting on a cake. "You'll be there, right?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Adrien felt his heart race. "Well yeah," he said, with a weak laugh. "We have to model like, _all_ of the clothes made by the finalists," he said with a weary grin.

They were so close now. "Don't worry, my clothes will not poke or prick you," she joked, "I'll make sure to remove the pins."

The two smiled at each other, lost in one another's eyes. And the kiss was pretty much inevitable at this point.

There was no-one watching, there was no curfew to get home. They were together. And that was all they knew at this moment. It was passionate, their yearning for each other finally released in this one kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder. "Have you ever," she hesitated, "have you ever _felt_ this way about anyone, before?" she asked nervously.

Adrien leant his head on hers as he thought about it. "This way? Never," he said strongly, "but it's true that I've had a, uh, crush you could say?" he said sheepishly.

Marinette on one hand felt glad that they had something special. But her heart sank a little to realise that she wasn't his first love. But she shook those feelings away. She wouldn't let this get between them.

"Just a crush?" she asked, a little tauntingly.

"Um, may-maybe a bit ob-obsessive at times," he stammered, evidently nervous.

Marinette couldn't help it. She sat up and laughed really hard.

"Adrien, you can tell me anything," she promised him, putting her arms around his neck.

He pulled her to him, so now she was sitting on his lap. "Hey!" she protested, but laughed.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I promise I have never felt attracted to someone this way before," Adrien said with certainty. "You have changed me for the better. And what I feel when I see you, or even just hear your voice is indescribable." His green eyes were scorching.

Marinette rested her head on his collarbone. "I feel the same way, Adrien," she whispered.

She paused. "But, if you don't mind that is," she hurriedly said, "I'd like to know about your first love."

She felt his breath catch so she put a hand on his chest. "Breathe," she ordered. She felt his chest relax again. She retracted her hand, but Adrien took it and placed it back.

"Just to remind you that you've got my heart," he said playfully.

Marinette punched him lightly.

"Ow!" he protested and she laughed.

"Well, this is kind of weird to say," he began. "Is this what it feels like for someone to tell their girlfriend about their exes? Although I haven't dated anyone before, this sure feels nerve-wracking."

"Just get on with it, blondie," she said.

He huffed. "Ok so I saw her from a distance. I mean, I was next to her a lot of the time, but I always kind of looked at her from afar."

"That's kind of creepy."

"Are you going to let me talk?"

Marinette held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry, continue."

"Ok," he said, taking a deep breath. "It was _not_ creepy," Adrien said defensively. "I was just afraid to get too close. She made it very clear that she wanted some distance from me. You see," he tried to explain without revealing too much, "it was a very… _professional_ relation we had. You could say we were team-mates."

Marinette nodded, as she traced patterns on his shirt absent-mindedly. It made it difficult for him to concentrate.

"So," he said, getting back on track, "I almost admired her too much. To the point where I could think nothing but her. But she never felt that way about me. I could tell that very clearly."

"An unrequited love," Marinette summarised.

"Pretty much," Adrien sighed.

"Days, weeks and even years went by and there was nothing more. I could tell she cared about me, but as a friend only."

"Friend-zoned."

"Will you let me finish? Anyway, it was stagnant. And then something changed."

Marinette curled up to him. Was that a yawn he detected?

"This isn't a bed-time story!"

She yawned again. "But you're a very good storyteller," she answered sleepily. She opened her closed eyes briefly. "Don't worry, I'm still listening."

He snorted. " _Anyway,_ I met a girl. I knew her before, but it was a wonder how I'd never noticed how beautiful her eyes were, how she danced lightly on her toes and how she could bring a smile to anyone's face. And amazingly, she seemed to like me too. So I thought; why am I wasting a chance to be happy?

I decided I was not going to waste this chance. I would tell her my feelings, feelings I had never felt before that were stirred up inside me whenever I caught a glimpse of her. But I made sure to let the first girl I loved know my feelings too."

At that, Marinette stirred slightly. "What did you say to her?"

Adrien smiled wistfully at the memory, clear as glass. "I told her that I had loved her. Past tense, please notice. But I had found someone special and I couldn't bear to feel as if I was playing them both. So I let her go."

"That's quite sad."

Adrien looked at her confusingly. "Don't you want me to end up with you?"

"Well, I know you _are_ with me, but still, it must have been hard for you."

Adrien was a little surprised she was taking this so well. And it shocked him even more to see how much she understood him. He shook his head in amazement.

"You're actually incredible," he whispered, low enough so she wouldn't hear.

"So," he said, this time a little louder, "I let her go. But instead what came to me was an amazing, beautiful and wonderful person who loved me for me."

Marinette snuggled into him. "That's a nice story," she yawned, and her eyes fluttered shut.

Adrien kissed the top of her head, and held her close. He would be there for her when she woke up. And he would be there for her as long as she needed him.

"Oh and Adrien," Marinette said, evidently on the last strains of consciousness.

"Yes?" he asked gently.

"I know I'm incredible," she said dozily and went into her slumber.

Adrien laughed softly as the petals fell from above and all around them in the gentle breeze.

* * *

 **Argh, I definitely loved writing that! Maybe one of my favourite chapters so far.**

 **Thanks for reading**


	21. Chapter 21

Marinette added the final touches onto the mannequin. A flower here and a scarf there…perfect! Exactly the way she wanted it.

"And the hour is up! Keep up this good work and you'll be fine," her teacher told her.

With the last round only a few days away, Marinette kept coming back after classes to practise. Her teacher would give her a designated piece of time to complete certain tasks, such as making a skirt, dress or item without any guidance, maybe like the real thing. Even though the round was a mystery and she had no idea what to expect.

Still. You could never be too prepared.

"Just stay calm and think of any designs you've made recently or any styles that have popped out to you when you've been walking around the city," Marinette's teacher advised her. "And now all there is to say is good luck."

Her teacher walked up to her. "I'm so proud of you, Marinette," she said. "Quite a few of my students have participated but you're the only one that has got to the final. You're up against better colleges and designers and already you've accomplished so much. So whatever happens, know that you have gone above and beyond."

Marinette teared up a little bit. "Thank you," she choked out. "You've been so kind and helpful too, Miss," she added shyly.

Her teacher patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. "All right, go enjoy the day," she said with smile.

Marinette grabbed her stuff and said good-bye.

On her way out a hand grabbed hers and pulled her to the side.

She squealed but then she saw it was Adrien.

"What the heck are you doing here?" she asked, looking annoyed but her heart fluttered in rebellion.

Adrien grinned. "Let's go for a walk."

* * *

"You want to know about _my_ love life?" she squeaked.

Yes, so Adrien had shared his inner feelings and truthfully told her about this mystery girl he had crushed on for ages. And true, she had fallen asleep listening (her parents used to tell her bedtime stories so it must have triggered old habits), and had Adrien to thank for getting her home. Apparently he had to carry her until the 'Gorilla' came to pick them up. And he was given quite a look, but Adrien had tried (key word: _tried_ ) to explain himself.

"It's only fair," he winked.

She sighed.

Well, if he could keep the identity of the 'mystery girl' a secret then she would also keep some secrets too.

"Well," she began, "I've never dated anyone before you," she admitted. He mocked her with a shocked expression until she elbowed him in the ribcage.

"And I, um, argh this is so embarrassing!" Marinette put her hands to her face.

Adrien gave a little chuckle. She peeked through her hands.

He looked infuriatingly good today. Hands in his pockets, wearing a formal white shirt with the first two buttons unbuttoned with jeans, he looked like a freaking supermodel. Which, annoyingly enough, he practically was.

She still didn't know how she was lucky enough to have him.

Marinette turned her face away. Her cheeks were reddening. "I, um, had a crush," she said.

He cocked an eyebrow. "On who?"

"On, on, oh my lord, I can't do this!"

"Nuh-uh, you said you would!"

"You," she said quietly.

"What was that?" he asked with a grin slowly spreading across his face. "Say that a bit louder would you?"

"Argh, I hate you!" She ran forwards, but didn't get far.

Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist and practically stopped her from moving. "Don't be embarrassed," he said gently in her ear. "If I had had the sense to see you clearly, I would not be ashamed to have a crush on you," he confessed.

Marinette still couldn't look at him. "However obsessive you were, I was _way_ worse. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

"Aw, I'm glad you've always liked me," he said jokingly, still holding onto her.

Marinette gave a laugh. "I was so blinded by you, that I even pushed away this guy that would always flirt with me."

Adrien rested his chin on her shoulder. "Oh?" he said casually.

"Yeah," Marinette gave out a sad laugh. "He was fun to be around, but he kept flirting with me and making awful jokes. But now they're just endearing when I think about it."

"You think about him a lot?"

Marinette smirked. "Getting jealous?"

He shrugged. "Maybe a bit," he admitted.

Now Marinette laughed. "Don't worry, there was no competition. I could never have feelings for him when you were around."

"Ok good," Adrien said possessively.

"But he was a good friend," Marinette reminisced. Chat Noir was a terrible flirt, but he was a great friend. He would be there for her and protect her, and she knew she would do the same for him.

"Friends only is fine," Adrien said nonchalantly.

She finally turned to look at him. "You're cute when you're jealous," she said and bopped his nose.

Adrien leaned over and kissed her, quick but with feeling. "I cannot believe you are mine," he said.

Marinette gave out a small laugh. "I was just thinking that about _you_ a minute ago," she said shyly.

"Really?"

"Um hello? You should not be allowed in public looking like that!" She stepped away from him and gestured to his outfit. "You're going to make girls look at you and then I'll have competition," she complained.

Adrien grinned. "I didn't know I had that effect on you. And don't worry," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "There's no competition," he said gently.

Marinette huffed. "Easy for you to say. I've seen all kind of girls eyeing you. And they're so much prettier than me," she pouted.

Adrien couldn't believe his ears. "You seriously do not look in the mirror, do you?"

"Huh?"

"You have no idea how beautiful you are. And _I've_ got plenty of competition, too."

"Hah! Don't lie," she snorted.

"I'm not lying! I see the guys checking you out. And it makes me mad," he said gruffly. "No-one should look at you like that. You deserve to be respected and honoured. And I want to let them all know that you're with me, and they should back off."

Marinette looked at him with a large smile. "You are actually so attractive when you're jealous like that," she smirked. "But seriously, enough of that. You're with me and I'm with you. That's all that matters now."

And that was true. So they walked hand in hand, just the two of them with nothing to separate them at that moment in time.

* * *

Adrien leaned on a table.

"Perfect! Now give me a pouty look," the photographer said vivaciously in a thick, Italian accent.

Adrien cringed internally but turned away from the camera, so it would take a side shot.

"Excellent! Now, pretend to look thoughtful."

What now? What was the concept of these shoots anyway? Looking deranged? Adrien thought.

"No, no!" the photographer said, smacking his own forehead. "Don't think about annoying things! Think about, a mid-summer's day, the sun kissing your skin and the breeze ruffling your hair…" the photographer's voice melted into the background as Adrien got lost in those kinds of thoughts.

Every single memory of him with Marinette came to his mind. Their first kiss, their walks in the sunset and eating at cafes. His eyes glazed as he got lost in the midst of those memories.

"And wonderful! You are done, monsieur!"

Adrien blinked a few times. "Ah, right, thank you," he said politely but in a little bit of a daze. He stepped away from the set and sat down on a nearby chair as staff starting packing up.

He looked at his watch. Hmm, it was getting late. He was thinking of calling Marinette, but she needed to rest. Besides, he thought fondly, he had learnt more about her today already. There would be some time to see each other before the final round of her competition.

"Watch out!"

His eyes snapped to the side and saw a flash of light coming towards him. Years of experience saved him from getting hit, as he jumped and dodged it. His chair got hit and was left smoking after what remained.

A wire laced around his waist and he was flung up into the sky. He was flying towards the dark, night sky.

An arm caught him and he found himself precariously at the edge of a balcony. There could only be one explanation for this.

"Akuma?" he asked. He turned around to meet his rescuer.

"Ladybug, what's going on?" he asked her.

She looked at him in fear. "Are you okay? You're not hurt?" She looked worried.

Adrien looked awkwardly at her. "I'm fine, thank you," he replied before looking down to see what was going on.

Ladybug, the girl he had loved first. He hadn't told Marinette that it was Ladybug who was his first crush because although the people of Paris loved Ladybug, they did so at a distance. They didn't love her the way Adrien had.

So to meet her now as a civilian was awkward to say the least. Especially as she seemed so concerned for him.

"Yeah, another akuma. I'll deal with it soon, but do you need to be anywhere?" Ladybug asked Adrien, a soft look in her eyes.

He smiled but didn't gaze at her for long. "My house, please," he asked. His father would no doubt ask questions.

His father. That was another strange topic. Gabriel had been recently taking more of an interest towards Adrien. Dare he say it, but he was being more attentive? About time, Adrien thought bitterly.

"Of course," she said, "grab onto me," she said, giving him her arm to take. Her cheeks were pinker than before.

Adrien gingerly held onto her. Ladybug looked at him questioningly. "You don't want to fall off, do you?" she asked and without bothering for his reply, she grabbed his arm and securely made him hold on to her. The contact made Adrien uncomfortable.

Soon, they were flying through the city. "So, I managed to see a little bit of your photoshoot before I caught you. What were you thinking of?" she asked with a friendly smile.

Adrien was a little surprised to hear that she was watching. "Um, just before the shoot ended?" She nodded. "I was thinking about my girlfriend, actually," he said, a little shyly.

He expected her to stiffen perhaps, or maybe feel angry at him. Angry, because he was hinting that she was hitting on him.

Instead, he was surprised again. She smiled widely.

"You were?" she asked, an undeniable tone of happiness in her voice. "Well, I'm sure she would be over the moon to hear that."

Adrien smiled and gave out a small laugh. And here he was worrying.

Worrying, because it had been strange that Ladybug had always been so much more open to him when he was Adrien. Perhaps foolishly he had thought previously that maybe she liked him. But clearly that wasn't the case. Ladybug was happy to hear of his girlfriend. So there was no tension between them, which he had feared there would be.

"Yes, I'll make sure to tell her that tonight," he decided. Adrien looked at her. "How about you? You must have a boyfriend?"

She blushed, and swung her arm out again as they turned around a corner. "Yes, actually. And he's one of the sweetest people I know. Even though I am biased."

They laughed as they landed outside Adrien's window. "Is this fine?" she asked.

"Yes thank you, Ladybug," he said with a smile.

Adrien felt good. He was happy she was happy with someone she loved. And he was happy that he was happy with Marinette.

He was happy for the balance there was in his life right now.

Ladybug gave him a wave. "See you whenever I see you next!" she said lightly, and she leaped off into the distance.

Adrien smiled as he leapt into his room, closing the window in the moonlight.

* * *

 **Thank you for the lovely reviews, follows and favourites! It means a lot to me!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey, new chapter!**

 **Also, I was asked if I have a schedule for posting chapters. The truth is, no I don't really.** **But whenever I finish a chapter and when I feel its good enough, I will publish it.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the weird chapter posting times and I hope you're still enjoying this story!**

* * *

"Come ON, Nino! We have to be there on time!"

"But there's a sale! And it's DOUGHNUTS!"

"IS FOOD ALL YOU THINK ABOUT?!"

Alya dragged Nino as forcefully as she could. "Marinette's _waiting,_ " Alya insisted. "We have to support her."

"Well sure, she's our friend, but even _she_ wouldn't miss out on the doughnut sale!" Nino complained.

"Oh my GOODNESS! Stop thinking about it and let's MOVE!"

Regardless to say, they got to Marinette's house pretty quickly.

"Hey Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng," Alya greeted and put a box on the table. "These are for you and Marinette. It's just some puff pastry savoury snacks we got on the way."

"Oh dear, you shouldn't have," Sabine said as she emerged from the bakery and hugged them at the door. "Come in, she's up in her room," she said knowingly.

"We'll be going there, then," Nino smiled, and they traipsed upstairs.

Alya opened the trapdoor. "Hey Mari-WHAT THE HECK?!"

Alya made an emergency duck as something went flying towards her face. She shut the trapdoor and heaved heavy sighs to calm herself down.

"Oh, um, sorry," a voice, muffled by the trapdoor, yelled. "Its safe to come in now."

Alya cautiously lifted the door.

Strewn all across the floor were tattered pieces of clothes, strings of wool and beads. Needless to say, it was a mess.

"Girl, what on earth is going on here?" Alya asked, as she lifted herself up and Nino followed.

Marinette looked dishevelled. "I'm sorry Alya," she said and burst into tears, clinging onto Alya.

"Woah, now I'm worried," Nino said and Alya silenced him with a look.

Alya stroked the designer's head. "Alright, tell me what's wrong," she said gently, trying to coax an answer out of her.

Marinette sobbed. "I'm just so, so _stressed,_ " she sniffled pitifully. "About the final round, and, just…so much more, too."

"Aw, hey, you've done a great job so far, Marinette!" Alya said encouragingly. "You're so young, yet you've done so much already! I know you care about winning, but the important thing is to try your hardest."

"That's right," Nino piped up. "And if you don't win, so what? At least you'll get media coverage in the final round!"

"NINO!"

"No but that's positive! Other big designers will want to intern her once they see her talent! She's already in the final, so already she's kind of famous!" Nino pointed out.

It was slightly true. The design competition was being talked about a lot on magazines and there would be some media coverage. Mainly to showcase the models who would walk with the designed clothes on. It was a fashion show, of sorts. But the budding designers weren't famous yet. They would really be talked about on the real day, however.

"That's not the important part," Alya said, looking angrily at Nino. "What's important is that you know you've tried your best. So the outcome, although important, is secondary to the fact you've tried."

"What she said."

"NINO!"

"Thanks guys," Marinette laughed weakly. "It's just," she slumped on her chaise, "it's not just the completion. Adrien and I had a fight today."

Alya and Nino looked at each other. They could relate. Their bickering was different, of course, but fights were inevitable in a relationship.

Alya sympathetically rubbed Marinette's shoulder. The designer heaved.

"I'm stressed about the competition first of all," she explained, "so today, I called him in the morning. I asked if he could come around, you know, just like I asked you guys." She gave a scornful sigh. "He said he was busy. I didn't realise he's got a lot on his plate too, because he's involved with a lot of the stuff in the competition too."

Marinette wiped another tear that made its way down her cheek. "So I may have got a little mad, saying that he didn't have any control of his life. I guess that hit a sore point. So he lashed out and said that," Marinette paused as she took a hold of her emotions, "he said I didn't know anything. That he gave up all of his free time, whatever little he got, for me."

The designer clenched her fists in fury. "So then I said that I never _asked_ him to give his time up for me! He chose to do that. And that ended the call."

Alya made her best friend's head rest on her shoulder. "It'll be okay," she said gently. "He really does care about you."

"And I care about him," Marinette wept. "I feel terrible for just leaving our conversation like that. It's just so silly! And I should have accepted my mistake then and there."

Nino sat next to Marinette. "Hey, Adrien was in the wrong too, don't let him off lightly," Nino said with a small grin. "I'm sure he would agree with me."

"Besides, you get closer after a fight," He said, grabbing Marinette's hand. It was totally a brotherly, affectionate touch. He winked at Alya. "We know."

Alya gave a smile. "That is true."

Marinette held her best friend and her brother-like-friend's hands. "You guys are my rock," she said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Aww!" Alya said. She squeezed Marinette's hand. "Trust me though, it will work out. Now what do we have to do? First off, why is this place a mess?"

"Ah, about that," Marinette said sheepishly. "I got mad, because of well the fight, and none of my creations were working out. So I, um, got angry and threw some stuff."

"Ah yes," Nino nodded understandingly. "A great form of therapy."

"Yeah, like this." Marinette hit him with a pillow. They cracked up.

"Come on, let's clean this place," Alya said and they began.

Marinette picked up some wool. "I've decided wool is not my thing," she said gravely. She put it aside. "Anyway, I thought I should relax before the final round. All this cramming is really not helping. So I thought we could hang out."

Alya nodded. She dusted off the floor which was covered with beads of all kinds. "For sure! We can order pizza, play board games and watch a movie! It'll be fun!" she enthused. "By the way, did you want to keep these beads?"

"Oh yeah, those were expensive. But yeah! Sounds like fun!"

Nino picked up the tattered pieces of fabric. "I'll order the pizza now, it'll take some time to come," he announced, and set to his task.

The designer grabbed a dustpan and brush. "I wish Adrien was here," she said sadly.

Alya huffed. "His loss," she muttered. She hadn't forgiven the Agreste yet.

Just then, Marinette's phone rang. Nino peeked to see the caller id. "Speaking of the dude…" he trailed off, and looked at Marinette awkwardly. "Do you want to, uh, speak to him?"

" _I_ will," Alya growled and picked up the phone. "Yes?" she said haughtily.

Marinette looked worriedly at her best friend. "Careful, Alya," she hissed. Alya just glared at her, as if to say _I got this, don't worry._

She listened for quite a long while before responding. "Yes. Uh-huh. Yes she's busy. And if you weren't so busy with your own life, you'd have at least texted her to let her know you couldn't come." Alya finished angrily. "Now good bye."

"Alya! I would have apologised!"

Alya rolled her eyes. "Save your apologies Marinette! If he isn't willing to see his mistakes, then there's no reason for you to say sorry either! Now come on, we can still have fun without him."

Marinette dejectedly began sweeping again.

When she was sure Marinette was distracted, Alya pulled Nino over. "It's a trick," she whispered. "I'm not really mad at Adrien. He said he was coming but he wanted it to be a surprise. And for once in his life he was not being dim-witted when I started improvising."

Nino's eyes lit up. "Ah, now I see the reason for your acting," he said, low enough so Marinette wouldn't hear. She wasn't listening anyway. She looked unhappy as she picked up the last few bits of the mess. "I thought you looked especially constipated with your anger."

Alya punched him in the stomach. "Oof!" Nino doubled over.

"That's what you get for insulting my acting!" Alya hissed before going over to Marinette and holding her shoulders. "There now! We're all done! And the pizza should be here."

The bluenette nodded. "That's one less worry, I guess," she shrugged.

"What did I say? _Trust_ me, Marinette. Everything will be fine. I promise."

Marinette smiled gratefully. "Thanks Alya."

The pizza arrived and Nino picked a good comedy for them to watch. "Do you want to play board games?" he asked eagerly.

Marinette glanced at him and his happy smile. "Sure Nino," she said. Anything to make _someone_ happy. "I'm sorry, I'm just going to go to my balcony for a bit. I'll be back soon."

"But which games do we pick?" Nino asked concernedly.

"Just pick anything you like. I'll be back soon," Marinette repeated as she clambered upstairs to her escape place.

"Should we follow her?"

Alya grabbed Nino's arm and leaned onto his shoulder. "Let's give her a little space. She'll come when she's ready."

* * *

Marinette took deep breaths.

She decided she was strong. So she would not keep crying. She would make it through all of this mess.

What she needed was some fresh air. Gazing down at her city was always good to her.

"I can do this," Marinette chanted to herself. "I will try my best in the competition. There's so much inspiration around here!"

She expected Tikki to answer her. But then she realised that Tikki was sleeping. Marinette smiled fondly at her kwami.

"And a relationship is bound to have twists and turns. I can't expect things to run smoothly all the time. But it was over such a small thing. Why does it hurt so much for such a small argument?" she asked herself.

 _It's because I love him so much,_ she answered herself. And a little scratch on him felt ten times worse on her.

Marinette forced herself to focus on the present.

Lights sparkled and shone down on the streets. It wasn't too late yet, so children were playing and young teenagers were chatting as they walked. Brightly coloured cars illuminated the houses they passed as their headlights brightened the paths they took.

There really was so much inspiration here. She was lucky to live here.

Marinette heard footsteps behind her.

"Alya, I said I would come down in a minute-" she turned around and her heart almost stopped.

"Adrien?" she whispered, unable to believe her eyes.

Adrien stepped forwards into the light. His hands were behind his back. He smiled at her hesitantly.

Without thinking twice, Marinette rushed towards him and enveloped him in an embrace. "You came after all," she breathed.

Adrien stroked her hair gently with one hand. "Of course I came," he said softly. "Even if I would have to risk my life, I would be there for you."

"I'm so sorry that we fought," Marinette said shakily, worried she would end up crying again. She didn't look at him, just crouched lower into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry too," Adrien said, and he meant it. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. It's been eating away at me."

"I shouldn't have gotten mad in the first place," Marinette admitted. "I should have known that you're busy. I should have _understood_."

"It's not a crime to want to spend time with me," Adrien said lightly. "I'd want to spend time with me too."

"I'm being serious."

Adrien laughed gently. "If I could spend all the time in the world with one person, it would be you," he said.

"Don't lie. I know you give up too much for me."

"I regretted saying that when it left my mouth. No seriously Marinette- I don't care about free time if it isn't with you. And that's the truth."

He pulled her closer to him. "I need you," he said, shakily. "I'm a mess, a wreck and a disaster without someone like you holding me in place. Please forgive me."

Slowly, Marinette lifted her head to look into his eyes. She thought no emerald in the world could ever compare to those jewels. "Forgive me, Adrien. And I can't live without you either. Let's move on past this," she offered.

"Here. This is a token of my reconciliation." He brought out the other arm from his back and brandished a bouquet of flowers.

"Oh you shouldn't have! They're wonderful!" Marinette declared happily. She took them and revelled in their mesmerising scent. Shyly, she looked up at him under her lashes.

Adrien gently lifted her face and kissed her. It was slow and tender at first, but grew stronger and more powerful with each breath. All of their anger dissipated into passion. Marinette wrapped her hands around his hair, pulling him closer to her. Adrien grabbed her waist but the flowers were in between them.

They laughed, all resentment gone. Adrien touched her tear-stained cheek. "I will never forgive myself for hurting you, for making these beautiful eyes cry," he said sorrowfully.

"That would hurt me more, Adrien," Marinette said insistently. "Never, ever hate yourself. You should never hurt yourself, and especially not because of me."

Adrien admired how loving and kind she was. "Okay, enough of this moping. We're here to have fun! When I came up to your room, Nino told me to hurry up because he loves board games."

Marinette laughed and Adrien sighed in contentment. _This_ was the way it should be. He should be making her laugh and be happy, not sad.

"Let us not deprive Nino any further then," she decided and they went downstairs.

"Didn't I say the flowers would be a nice touch?" Alya said to Adrien when they came downstairs.

"Yes, they did work well! Thanks Alya."

Marinette looked back and forth between her boyfriend and best friend. "Wait, you _knew_?" Marinette screeched.

"Oh calm your hair, girl! You didn't think he pulled this off on his own, did you?" Alya said, crossing her arms.

"True. I should have realised you were over-acting."

"If another person says anything about my acting, I swear I will hit them-"

"Guys!" Nino interrupted. "We're meant to be having fun and trying to relax? Come on!"

They all sat down on the floor, with cushions and mats and Alya still muttering under her breath but she cheered up quickly when they began playing their games.

"Alright, its film time now! Grab the popcorn would you, Adrien?" Alya ordered as she set up the DVD player.

"What about the pizza?" Marinette asked, bringing the box over.

"Oh yeah, bring that too. Alright, hit the lights Nino!"

The lights dimmed and Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder, and he put an arm around her. Alya leaned against Nino as he slung an arm across her shoulder.

All in all, the day ended well despite the fact that Alya, Nino and Adrien had to trudge back to their homes when they had fallen asleep while watching the movie, a little groggy and tired but happy in all aspects to say the least.

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Three chapters for being so late to update! Accept my apology please!**

* * *

Today was the day. The final round of the design competition.

Marinette heaved a long, laboured breath. This was it. Now or never.

No matter what the outcome, it was important she tried. That was what mattered.

And this competition had already done so much for her already. Her relationship with Adrien would never have progressed this far without it. They had bonded over this, fought over this and reconciled over this. Their fates had been intertwined because of this event.

So no matter what happened, this was fate and she had chosen her fate.

She stepped in to the wide doors that were already swung open.

Marinette had handed over her purse and coat into the locker reserved for the participants. The rules were very strict about no cheating. She didn't have any pockets so she couldn't hide anything, but a female officer checked her anyway.

Walking in, the first thing she saw was the huge runway.

It was beautiful. Lights hung from above, giving a soft glow and the catwalk wasn't white but cream. Her favourite colour. Little round lights were aligned like a border across the runway and it was the only thing that can be seen. The surrounding area was dark, so it looked like a floating stage.

Signs showed her that she should go to the left. Passing another set of wide open doors, she finally reached the arena for the budding designers. There were five large round tables, scattered around the edges and a large table in the centre for the judges with three seats. Looking forward, Marinette saw some glass doors into a narrow room.

The room was glorious. Small but powerful. Because it held everything she would need to win.

Rolls of fabric were stacked upon one another. Another shelf seemed to hold gems and stones of all sorts that Marinette couldn't see because she was far away, but her eyes detected them by their sparkles. Utensils were there, such as scissors, sewing machines, needles and much more. And she noticed that five mannequins were allocated at each table too.

"Excuse me, you are?" a voice asked her.

She swung around to see another officer on her right. "I'm one of the participants," she introduced herself.

"Your name?"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Okay. Please come to the waiting room."

Marinette was directed to yet another room and shyly, she walked in.

It was larger than she anticipated, and no-one was going to pay attention to her because everyone was busy. Make-up artists were getting models and designers ready, and assistant make-up artists were getting make-up artists ready. Hair-stylists were running back and forth with curling irons and various clips while managers were shouting orders.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Hey! You there! Sit down here!" a lady called her.

"Me?" she mouthed. The lady impatiently nodded.

She sat down on the chair in front of the scary lady. She was tall, very thin and had an extravagant hat on. She wore a white jumpsuit with a glittery belt.

"A designer?" the woman asked. Marinette nodded.

"André! Get over here!" she screeched.

A young man sauntered over. He too, was also wearing white- was that the theme? - but what was striking was his turquoise eyeliner over his dark, chocolate skin. He gave her a friendly smile.

"Get her ready. We still have two hours till the show starts but we need to be quick!" the woman ordered.

"Yes Madame," he said with a formal bow.

She sniffed and went screeching at another person.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is it?" André asked her kindly.

"Um, yes," Marinette replied, a little softly. Confused she asked: "but how do you know my name?"

"Oh we had to memorise the faces and names of all the designers and models," he said airily, "but I was speaking with one of the models and he mentioned you."

She gasped. "Adrien? You mean he's already here?"

André grinned. "He's not easy to forget, that one," he joked. "And he did gush about his girlfriend a lot," he said with a wink.

Marinette forgot all about her nervousness. "Oh wait till I get him," she said menacingly. André laughed.

"Anyway, what kind of look do you want to go for? Cute? Hot? Striking?" he asked.

Marinette considered it. She didn't really fit with the options above. She thought about her designs and how she should reflect them.

"Simple," she decided. "Simple but unforgettable."

"I like it," André said. He called for to some of his colleagues and told them what to do. "Alright Marinette, just sit back and relax."

* * *

Adrien was getting slowly but surely annoyed.

It wasn't anyone's fault, he reminded himself, but did there have to be _always_ be someone prodding at him, or just simply fluttering around him?

He swore it was the _twentieth_ time someone had dabbed at his face to fix his make-up. Honestly, he hadn't eaten anything or even spoken. So why was this touch-up necessary?

His suit was white. In fact all the models were in white. Even the assistants had decided to join in with the theme, too. Only the designers were wearing something colourful. He hadn't seen Marinette yet but he could if he was allowed to leave his damn seat!

Adrien sighed and slumped in his chair. Patience was what he needed. But he always ran out of that with fashion shows. They were so long and he was always so restricted- he could never do what he wanted to.

He turned to the girl who was set on 'Adrien-duty' next to him. "You sure I can't even read my Physics textbook?" he pleaded. "I have to read it for my next assignment!"

The girl looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I was instructed that the models have to stay seated and to not do anything unless advised further."

He groaned.

Adrien looked in the mirror to see a make-up artist come to him. He was going to sigh heavily again until he realised it was the guy before who had been super funny and nice to him.

"André!" Adrien exclaimed. "Boy, am I glad to see you," he said as he swivelled around in his chair to face him.

The artist smiled. He leaned in to whisper to Adrien. "If you need a getaway, say you have to go to the toilet," he advised. "She's in the room where the designers are going to assemble soon."

He winked and walked off.

Adrien suddenly didn't feel so tired or weary anymore. He jumped up. "I'm going to the toilet!" he announced and made a run for it, not bothering to ask for permission.

He looked around. He was in the room with all the tables. There were a few managers and people sorting out sounds and microphones, as well as lighting and cameras. But where was she?

Adrien saw a woman wearing a pale blue flowy dress. "Um excuse me, have you seen-"he stopped as the woman turned around.

Adrien could hardly believe his eyes.

It was Marinette. Her face was recognizable but eyeliner was lined her across her lash line. A slight shimmery blush laced her cheeks. A tinge of red touched her lips. The dress hugged her figure but weaved out slightly as it touched her feet. And her hair was half up and half down, with little beads placed here and there by hair pins.

Adrien just stood there, mouth agape, unable to move.

She gave out a small giggle as she closed his mouth. "Is it too much?" she asked delicately.

Adrien took her hand. "You look perfect," he smiled.

Marinette looked away shyly before looking at him again. "You look great too," she said. She looked around nervously. "This is my first time getting filmed professionally. I'm worried about the way I'll be perceived."

Adrien cradled her hand in his as he spoke. "Well you just have to answer any questions they ask," he said, "but that's about it. They'll mostly film you working. It'll be like me watching you sketch."

"Creep."

"But don't worry about what people think of you. Just be yourself."

She made a face at him. "So cliché."

"Will you stop insulting me and actually appreciate my advice?" he said with mock anger.

She kissed his cheek. "How's that for appreciation?" she said with a grin.

Adrien looked away timidly. "Another one would be nice," he said innocently. He got a punch from her instead. He sighed. "I have to go," he said regretfully. Suddenly he remembered something.

"Marinette," he said a little nervously, "I have to ask you something."

She looked at him, confused. "What?"

Adrien held her hands. "Do you want everyone to know that, we're together?" he asked. "Because cameras will be rolling soon. And I'm sure people have already seen us together. Are you alright with them asking you about…me?"

"That's what you're worried about?" Marinette touched his cheek comfortingly. "I'm fine with that. Are you?" she asked.

"Well yes, of course, but people might start accusing you of things, if you catch my drift," Adrien said quietly.

Marinette was silent for a bit before she spoke. "Adrien, I accepted that a long time ago," she said solemnly. "That others would point fingers at me, saying I was with you because of the fame or for success. But _I_ know that's not the truth. And so do you. So it doesn't matter. I just hope I can be recognised for my skills though, too," she finished, with a sad smile.

Adrien held her face in his hands. "I'm sorry if I'm making things worse for you," he said with pang, softly. "I just want you to be happy."

Marinette smiled at him. "I _am_ happy. With you, I am happy."

Adrien lifted her face gently and kissed her. It was short but it had emotion. He broke away first. "I really have to go," he said, tracing her cheekbone with two fingers before he left.

As Adrien sat down, he didn't complain when someone came to touch up his lips. At least there was a valid reason behind that one, this time.

* * *

Marinette's cheek was still tingling.

She hadn't told him about Gabriel yet. She wondered if how he would react if he knew that fingers had been pointed from people a lot closer to him than he had thought. But she had retracted from telling him. Perhaps she was hoping that Gabriel would own up and tell his son first.

Marinette sincerely hoped that she was recognised for her talent though. Now she knew Gabriel was a judge, people would be harsher than ever; that she was with the judge's son. She would have to really outshine herself this time.

She ran through some designs in her head. She was not a gaudy person, thus her designs were never loud. But she wanted something that would really catch people's eyes in a way that reflected her own style.

"You there!"

She turned around to face the voice. "Yes?" she asked.

The lady from before, with the ambitious hat choice, ambled over. "You're not supposed to be here! All the models have to wait in the waiting room!"

"Oh, um, I'm not a model," she said, blushing heavily.

The lady frowned, and looked her up and down. "A designer then?" She shook her head passionately. "It is too dark in here! My eyes are not working properly!" she yelled. She sniffed. "Well whoever made you up did a good job," she said uncaringly. "Now go to the waiting room! All the designers are waiting there!"

Marinette blinked. What the heck just happened? Did she get…roasted? Or was that a compliment?

Regardless she made her way back, following the lady.

The other designers were easy to spot. They weren't wearing white.

They were clustered together in one corner. Marinette steadied herself and joined them.

Two of them smiled at her and waved. The other two ignored her as they casually adjusted their outfits.

Speaking of their outfits…

The two that ignored her were wearing the loudest, most flashy outfits there. One was a girl and the other a boy. The girl had lots of animal prints overlapped on her cropped shirt while she wore tight, leather leggings with sequins on. Her ears had huge hoops as well. The guy wore a skin tight jumpsuit which was striped with different patterns and patches of colour. His head adorned a feather hat, which was going to make Adrien sneeze for sure.

The other two designers, who had smiled at her, were wearing less loud outfits but they were still eye-catching.

One of them had fiery, auburn hair. She wore a black leotard with white tights and super tall boots which sparkled. On a closer inspection, Marinette noticed her eyes had flecks of gold in them. Contacts or not, Marinette didn't know.

The other designer had the coolest fur scarf ever. His neck was fully covered by it and he had camouflage baggy pants on with tall, stilt-like boots.

Marinette looked at her simple dress. Out of all the options from the clothes rack, this dress was by far the meekest. But that was what she wanted. And Adrien had said it was perfect. Her head swam from the sweet compliment.

"Ok listen up!" The woman who had ushered her from before spoke. She was clearly in charge around here. Despite her booming and commanding voice, Marinette found it difficult to concentrate with that grandiose hat of hers. It swished and swayed as she walked and spoke to them.

"The designers here," she pointed towards them, "will have their separate interviews now. They will then go and stand at their tables for their next instruction." The lady strutted back and forth again. "Meanwhile, the models will speak a little to the cameras and introduce themselves briefly."

The lady looked around. "Then it gets difficult," she said strictly, with narrowed eyes. "Some of the models will wear some of the clothes the designers have already submitted, so the viewers get the _flair_ of their style!" she said extravagantly. Marinette jumped a little at this sudden outburst.

The lady continued as if nothing had happened. "As soon as the designers finish their task, which is, a _secret_ , of course," she said snootily, "you will all need to assemble," she spoke to the models. "Then you will model the, ahem, _secret task_ , for each designer, one by one."

She looked around, daring anyone to challenge her. "Any questions?"

"Yes," said a man, who Marinette recognised to be André. "Madam Fortescue, could you say all of that all again?"

This brought laughter on the set.

The scary lady, who Marinette now knew was called Madame Fortescue, scowled. "It will make sense as we go along," she snapped. "Now move, move!"

People scattered. Security guards were ushering the four designers away and Marinette, in a dazed panic, decided to follow. Models weaved in and out as did make-up artists and assistants. It was a crazy flurry.

"Good luck," a too familiar voice whispered in her ear. It was gone the next second.

Marinette would thank him later. Right now, she had a competition to win.

* * *

 **I hope all of you don't mind my own characters I spontaneously introduced. The thing is, I didn't really want to give them names but the dialogue and descriptions would have been really strange without it. It just wasn't reading well. So I hope that's ok!**


	24. Chapter 24

"I really do like simple designs that capture the subtlety of nature as well as beautiful memories in life," Marinette replied.

She was the last one to be interviewed. No questions on her love life yet. So far so good.

The interviewer was really peppy. "And what do you think the mystery round is?" he asked her brightly.

"Erm, well it will definitely involve me cutting some things up and trying to make everything look good!" She said, in good humour.

The interviewer gave a laugh that was a bit too exaggerated. "Yes, I'm sure it will!"

He kept asking her a few questions he had written on his notepad. Marinette noticed, while she spoke, another man come up and whisper to the interviewer. He then left in a vanish.

"I see," the interviewer replied to her last answer, making it clear that he wasn't paying attention and was distracted by what the man had just said to him. He looked at her almost a bit too brightly, almost as if there was a secret he was dying to expose.

Marinette gulped.

"Now recent sources tell me you are dating Adrien Agreste, who is a model here today and whose father is a judge as well. Is this true?"

Of course. Her luck would have to run out this soon. Fingers and accusations would be firing at her soon.

But she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And she would answer things on her own terms.

Marinette confidently looked at the interviewer in the eye. "I can assure you that Gabriel Agreste will judge us solely on our skills in the designing department. And if you would like answers to your questions, you could ask the source that informed you, if you like," she said as politely but firmly.

This time the interviewer gulped, looking nervous. "Ok great! Let's wrap this one up then, shall we?"

With that, he was gone and so was the camera.

Marinette breathed heavily as she took her seat at her assigned table.

The table had a notebook. As she flipped through it, she saw it was empty. There was a pot with sharpened pencils, some fine-liner pens, a ruler and rubbers. In another pot there was scissors, a small box with sewing needles and pins and some sticky tape. She knew she'd have to head over to that small, glass room she saw before to get her materials.

"Okay let's get started!" It was Alec Cataldi, the usual TV show presenter on news channels. Today he was wearing a matching checker suit instead of his usual blue T-shirt ensemble.

"People of Paris, today is the competition for your next budding designer! You've read about it in the magazines- now we've brought it to you live on TV!"

Alec spun around to face Marinette and the other designers. "Okay folks, this is the mystery round! Can we get a drumroll please!" He said dramatically.

Marinette forced herself not to jump when the sound team got a little too happy with the loud drumroll sounds from their large speakers.

"Alright," Alec grinned at them. "Your mystery challenge is: design a fashion line with the theme 'Sleek but oh so chic'," he said smoothly and enthusiastically.

Cogs were spinning inside the bluenette's head. She listened attentively as Alec kept speaking.

"Your time frame will be up here on this digital screen, so don't forget to look! Ready, set, GO!"

There was a flurry as the designers ran for the glass room that had all the fabric. But Marinette was the odd one out. Instead, she sat down at her table and frantically grabbed a pencil.

 _Sleek but chic, sleek but chic…_ she kept chanting in her head.

Suddenly, she drifted into a memory, which was a while ago.

 _"_ _Still find me entertaining?" Marinette countered, hands on hips._

 _"_ _Of course, my little designer," he replied as Marinette blushed at his new nickname for her. "Very much so," he said lacing his arm around her waist and pulling her close._

That was the day she had designed that dress. The dress that didn't make sense at all. The dress with the flowing, billowy arms. The too-high hemline. The piece that Adrien said was 'gorgeous'.

She knew this was a huge risk. She was making something with details the fashion industry never really worked with. But she had to try.

Luckily, she remembered most of the details. The parts where she didn't remember, she improvised with instead. Within five minutes, she had a rough sketch of not only the main dress, but the outfits for the male counterpart, an additional female and for an additional male. Quickly, she noted the materials she needed and made a run for the glass room, her notebook in her hand.

Thankfully, it was empty now so she wouldn't have to push and shove. And thankfully, the main materials she needed weren't taken. Some things were, but it seemed like they were re-stocking the place anyway. So it would be fine.

With things under her arms, and a few things balanced precariously on her head, the bluenette stumbled over to her table. She noticed the other designers had decided sketching _after_ gathering their materials. But that was okay.

Sometimes it is better to do things your way.

With a deep breath, Marinette began working.

* * *

Adrien alternated between pacing and staring anxiously at the designers.

There were only a few models here today. Since each designer had submitted four sets for their fashion lines, there were only six models. Two extras were here to make the filming smooth, so when someone was changing, someone else was walking.

Adrien was dressed up in a gaudy, too bright jungle suit. He was going to be walking soon, so in his spare time before that, he was worrying.

"What is she doing? Why isn't she grabbing the materials yet?" he fretted, softly to himself. Adrien paced a bit more. "Come on Marinette! What are you _doing_?" he whispered nervously.

"Ooh are you cheering someone on?" a model next to him asked.

Adrien stared at her blankly.

"Um okay, never mind then," she muttered as she walked off, stumbling a little in her jungle high heels.

Adrien pinched the bridge of his brow. He didn't have time to socialise. He would apologise later, if he remembered.

He stared at Marinette again.

This time, she was cutting some white fabric. The cloth looked as if the texture was creamy and thick, a little spongy too. She pinned it to a mannequin and started snipping of more of it.

Adrien's eyes scanned her table. There was also black cloth.

"That's it?" he wondered aloud. "Just black and white?"

But this was Marinette, Adrien reminded himself. She had a vision when designing. And her creations never disappointed.

"I believe in you," he whispered with a small smile.

"Adrien Agreste, you're on in two," a manager called.

Eyes lingering on her table, he walked off and waited to step into the spotlight.

* * *

 **Oh side note, Alec Cataldi is not my own character. He is that TV presenter we all see on the episodes of Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir! So that character belongs to Thomas Astruc. I never knew what his full name was until I searched it up, so I thought I'd mention that!**


	25. Chapter 25

"Just half an hour left, folks!" Alec announced cheerfully.

Marinette tried not to panic. Which was easier said than done.

Despite her concerns, she was almost done. The main outfits were practically there, but she just had the finishing details left. She had also done the shoes- she had taken some basic, plain heels for the girls and polished shoes for the boys and added a few touches to them.

"Needles," Marinette muttered, as she searched for them. "I need a needle. Huh, that's weird. I swear I just put mine down here," she wondered.

She had only left her table to grab a glass of water. How could she have forgotten where the sewing needle was so easily?

"You can have mine," a voice offered.

Marinette looked up. It was the girl that had ignored her from before. Marinette couldn't stop staring at her clashing animal print top.

The girl outstretched her palm and there was a thin sewing needle in the centre. "The name's Lacy," she said, her eyes glinting. "You can have it."

"Thanks," Marinette said, as she took it.

The girl gave her a smile that gave Marinette a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Shaking the weird feeling off, Marinette took the needle. But a hidden instinct in her told her to look at it carefully.

It was very blunt. And she knew that for her intricate designs, this needle wouldn't be the best.

She dropped it on her table and decided to grab another one from the store room, running because there wasn't much time left.

"Ah, this one'll do!" she said and then she gasped.

One of her mannequins had dropped to the floor.

"Oh no!" she said as she scurried forwards, frantically looking to see if there was any damage. "Phew, everything's fine," she said in relief as she stood the mannequin up again.

"Whoops," someone said behind her.

Marinette turned and glared at the person. Although their back was turned, she could see that it had been Lacy.

Things were getting treacherous around here.

Marinette also recalled how one of the designers before had yelled and sobbed as they found their sketchbook all soggy and ruined when a drink glass had been spilled across it. Before, she had thought it was a coincidence. Now, she wasn't so sure.

She was going to have to be more vigilant.

Marinette grabbed a pair of tweezers and meticulously began placing little crystals on her outfits. She looked at the clock. Twenty minutes left.

Soon, she was done adding the crystals. Her eyes burned from the effort. There was only ten minutes left now.

She did a quick once over on each of her pieces, removing the pins and sighed a breath of relief when they all held in place. She made sure every piece was clean and pin-free.

Five minutes.

The designer tapped her chin. What else?

A good design always helped someone shine. But make-up could also bring out that extra dazzle, too. Even when she was getting ready, the right make-up was essential for making everything fit together. Hair, the face and accessories- the entire ensemble was important.

Glad she had brought some extra crystals, Marinette stuck some underneath the eyes on the mannequins that were for the females. For the male ones, she put one clip on earring she had brought with her from the store room.

There. Perfect.

"Aaaaand time is UP!" Alec exclaimed, a buzzer sounding. He smiled glamorously at the camera. "Everyone, our fabulous models have shown you the fashion lines each designer has created to get to the final. Now, it's time to see what they've conjured for the mystery round!"

He turned and smiled dazzlingly at the designers. "Alright designers, take a short rest! You've all worked hard. We'll see you all soon enough!"

Alec turned to face the camera for the public again. "Stay tuned, folks! Our judges will comment on each designer's creations after this short break!"

Someone yelled 'Cut!' and everyone slumped from tiredness.

Madame Fortescue clip-clopped over. "Designers, in the waiting area, NOW!"

 _Yeesh_ , Marinette thought as she followed her back.

Back in the waiting room, things were still busy. The models were getting ready _yet again_ to fashion the mystery round clothes.

"Designers, you can rest for a bit. You'll be called again shortly for the results," Madame Fortescue said. She turned around and stamped. "MODELS! HURRY UP!" she screeched as she scurried off.

Marinette would have collapsed into a chair but she decided to find Adrien. _He must be so tired right now,_ she thought. _We'll go for a nice date after this to make up for it all_ , she decided happily.

He wasn't hard to find.

"Hey you," she said as she tapped him gently on the shoulder.

"Hey yourself," he smirked. Marinette's heart fluttered. It was so infuriating when he did that!

His assistant tried to complain but he gave her the pleading eyes. "Fine," she said, smiling a little as she left.

Adrien enveloped her in a hug. "You okay?" he asked gently.

"I should be asking you that," she joked, poking him. She could feel him smile.

"I hope I can get to model your line," Adrien said, pulling back and stroking her cheek. "It looks beyond amazing."

Marinette blushed at the compliment. "Thanks," she said, looking away. She met his eyes again. "Do you know what inspired me?" she asked.

Adrien looked at her as he pondered. "Well, it fit the theme," he mused. "Black and white is very sleek."

Marinette pulled out her necklace that was hiding behind her dress. It was one half of the yin yang symbol that had been given to them a while back.

Almost automatically, Adrien pulled out his from his pocket.

They joined the two together, clasping the halves with their hands. "Now you know," Marinette concluded, with a soft smile.

"This is going to mean so much more to me now," Adrien replied to her.

Their little moment was cut short. "Adrien, I'm afraid I can't give you any more time. You have to go now," his assistant said.

"I'll root for you!" Marinette teased. "Now go," she said, pulling her necklace back.

Adrien winked at her before he left.

The blue-eyed designer trudged back to her seat. This time, she did collapse into her chair. She looked at her necklace, and smiled.

This meant so much more to her now, too.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for the favourites and the follows! I look at the numbers and feel so overwhelmed and grateful for all those people supporting this story! I will try my best!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	26. Chapter 26

**All right, an apology is in order!**

 **I am so, so sorry for not posting in ages! The truth is, I'm at university now so there is a lot of workload! (I still manage to procrastinate though). So I know that doesn't cut it, but I'm sorry! I have not forgotten this story and I will continue it! Please support me and forgive me if I take time to post!**

 **Thanks so much for reading, liking and following this! I get the notifications and honestly speaking, it brightens up my day!**

 **Alright, on with the story!**

* * *

"Although the idea is well-executed and follows the trend we see often these days, the outfit doesn't seem to coincide with our theme," Gabriel judged.

Two of the designers had been evaluated already. It was the two that had ignored Marinette at first; they were the ones who were gaudy and very showy in their styles. One of them was Lacy, Marinette now knew. Marinette felt very uneasy about her. Lacy had gotten good comments, nothing too good or too bad however.

The other one was the one Gabriel had just commented on. His face fell as he heard Gabriel's judgements, but he composed himself quickly. He was on camera, after all.

The last two designers did well too. Any criticisms they did receive were minor. Gabriel was the toughest to win over. Almost all of his comments were negative. The competition was tough, Marinette thought agitatedly.

There was another commercial break. "Marinette!" Madame Fortescue called, shrilly. A little startled, Marinette made her way over to her.

"There's been a bit of an emergency," Madame Fortescue said, a little nervously.

"Emergency?" Marinette echoed. "What do you mean?"

"Two of our models have fallen sick. They are vomiting every so often. Another one has tripped over something and has twisted their ankle."

"What?!" Marinette exclaimed. "That-that's awful! How did this happen?"

Madame Fortescue sighed sadly. "We don't really know. But we are one model short. We don't know what to do," she said, looking panicked.

Marinette focused herself. "We still have a little time, don't we?"

"Twenty minutes."

"That's enough. Let's get over there," she decided, as she walked over to the waiting room.

It was clear which models were sick. Their faces were pale and one of them looked slightly green. Marinette held each of their hands, consoling them. She walked over to the model who had someone bandaging his ankle.

"Does it hurt really badly?" Marinette asked with concern.

He grimaced. "It's better now, but I can't put pressure on it," he said ruefully. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stand, much less walk."

"Just rest," Marinette said to him, and he gave her a pained smile.

"Marinette!" Adrien called, rushing over to her. "We don't know what's going on, it all just happened before your turn!"

As discreetly as she could, the designer pulled Adrien to the side.

"Adrien, I don't think this is a coincidence," she whispered to him. Adrien furrowed his brows. "I have a feeling the designer named Lacy has got something to do with this," she said quietly.

Adrien considered her words. It was unlike Marinette to accuse someone without valid reasons. "I'll get to the bottom of it," he promised, as he dashed off.

"What do we do? We need a model stat!" Madame Fortescue fretted.

André walked over. "Marinette, why don't you step in?" he suggested.

Heads turned to look at Marinette. "M-me?" she stuttered. "No no, you don't understand! I have two left feet, I can't walk the runway!" she protested.

Madame Fortescue strutted over to her. "Nonsense! We don't have much time! You'll be fine! Just place one foot in front of the other!" She clapped her hands. "Get her ready, now! Someone show her how to walk like a model properly and promptly!" she ordered.

Everyone was glad to have a purpose again. The rushing began.

The models who were sick and injured gave her an encouraging smile. Marinette was whisked away and loads of girls simultaneously started working on her hair, face etc.

She was shoved into a changing room and two girls started changing her clothes.

"Woah there, I can do that myself!" Marinette yelled as she pushed them out.

Eventually she was ready. She looked at herself in the mirror.

They had given her the main female dress. The dress that didn't make sense but at the same time made all the sense in the world. Because it was so her. And she had designed this. Her heart filled a little to be able to wear her design and show it to the world.

Someone placed the jems under her eyes, just as she had planned on the mannequin. And someone made sure her half of the yin-yang necklace was visible.

Her feet slid into the shoes she had decorated, glad to see they were comfortable and beautiful. And now came the tricky part.

"Just put one foot directly in front of the other," a model instructed. "And look up and smile. Don't look down! No, yes a bit more forwards with that foot…there we go! You can place your hands on your hips if you want."

"Okay, you're on!" a manager called to her.

"Here we go," Marinette said, inhaling deeply.

Models before her were already returning back. She stepped into the spotlight, the glaze almost blinding her but amazingly, she kept her balance. Not looking down, Marinette tried to feel exuberant as she was able to wear her creation with pride and happiness.

When she got to the last part of the runway, she turned and smiled. Nothing too provocative or sensuous- it was just simple. Sweet and simple.

She walked back, miraculously elegant in those heels, and went backstage into the wings again.

"You're not done yet!" Madame Fortescue shrieked. "You have to do the ensemble walk!"

"What?" Marinette said in exasperation and disbelief.

"Everyone, go go GO!"

The models filed out in the same order again, this time staying on the runway and not returning back. Marinette smiled once again and walked.

Alas. The designer did not look down and see the thin slick of oil which was suspiciously laid in a narrow line in her path. Her heel slipped and Marinette felt her back arching towards the floor.

Just when she mentally braced herself for the fall, she felt something softer instead.

An arm was wrapped around her waist. Marinette looked at the person who caught her.

Was it even a surprise anymore, at this point?

He was right on time. He always was.

Adrien concernedly looked her over once. When he was fully sure there was no damage, he gave her a small wink and smile, and righted her again. This time however, he kept one hand placed on her waist.

They all smiled for the cameras. And Marinette couldn't have felt happier.

Deep, deep inside she had wanted to wear this dress. And she had wanted Adrien to wear that suit.

Because just like their necklaces they wore at this moment, the outfits resembled the yin and the yang.

Marinette's dress was white with a hint of black at the hemline. Whereas Adrien's suit was black, with the shirt inside being white. Yes, there were more details, like the small beads and jems, and intricate weaving and sewing, but that was the essence of Marinette's plan. And you couldn't get more chic or sleeker than that.

"Well," Alec Cataldi said, coming into the view of the cameras. "This took quite an interesting turn!"

 _That's to say the least,_ Marinette thought.

"The judges will announce their comments now," Alec said brightly and the view was on the judges.

The first judge glanced at her notes occasionally. "An interesting take on the theme, with a very nice touch with the accessories," she summarised at the end.

The second judge gave a warming smile. "I love the bold take on these outfits!" he exclaimed. "True, we don't see those daring choices all together, but I feel that it works exceptionally well!"

Marinette gave an anxious smile in return. Adrien tightened his grip around her in reassurance. He still hadn't let go of her yet.

Now, it was Gabriel turn. Marinette gulped and she felt Adrien's arm drift slightly away from her.

Gabriel took some time before he spoke. "The hemline is too high and the billowy arms make the dress impractical."

Ouch. He didn't take long to take a stab, did he? Marinette tried not to get too upset. After all, he was being fair- that was what she wanted anyway. And he would be harsher on her since she knew him too.

"That being said, I find it works," Gabriel said with a perfect poker face.

Marinette could hardly believe her ears.

"The yin-yang concept fits well with our theme, and I find the simple design is eloquent. Yet, I must acknowledge you have taken large risks here, Miss Dupain-Cheng, with those bold choices," Gabriel concluded.

Marinette nodded. She knew that she had taken those risks, and she had taken it willingly. Despite Gabriel's sour ending, that was pretty good feedback.

"Okay, thank you very much judges! Now it's time to see who the winner is!" Alec gave a dashing smile and posed for the camera. "But after this short break!"

Once again, everything was a flurry of action.

"Hey, you alright?" Adrien asked.

Oh. He was asking about her fall, not his father's comments, Marinette deciphered. Or perhaps it was both.

"I'm fine," she said.

"I don't think that fall was a coincidence, Mari," Adrien said with his brows furrowed. "I caught you just in time because my suspicions were correct-"

"Marinette! You have to change and go with the other designers now!" An assistant manager interrupted.

She looked apologetically to Adrien as she was whisked away. What was he trying to tell her?

There was no time for that. Within minutes, her dress was swapped for her previous gown, her make-up unaltered as there wasn't enough time.

Marinette's head swam but adrenaline flowed through her as she stood next to the other designers. This was it. The winner would be announced shortly.

"You've witnessed their trials, now you'll see the results! Who will win?" Alec asked, building the suspense.

Heart hammering in her chest, Marinette closed her eyes as she waited for the winner to be announced.

"And the winner is…"

Her heart rate slowly increased and she clasped her hands.

* * *

 **Aaaaaaand a cliffhanger! Yeah, I changed that at the last minute. I was going to announce the winner but decided not to. Sorry! Don't hate me!**

 **I will try and post soon. Thanks for reading!**


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